Everything Changes
by IdiotWithaBoxandaScrewdriver
Summary: Yoh reincarnates in the future as a half-human half-alien hybrid forced into a life of slavery he is not sure if he will be able to stop Hao this time around. When he is bought by a mysterious stranger, he doesn't expect to fall in love. Rating will up.
1. Chapter 1

Wolf: New story! Hope you all have fun with this one! I own nothing but the plot and any OCs that may or may not show up. Warning, there will be twincest, so if you don't like get out now, and if you flame I will bite back. Enjoy!

The Spirit of Fire exploded with a sonic boom-like noise that Yoh was sure could be heard around the world. It would only be fitting, as the battle would have been world-changing if Hao had succeeded in taking the Great Spirit. That was the only reason he was now doing his best to kill his brother, for the sake of the billions of lives at stake.

The backlash of power released by the destruction of Hao's Oversoul hit him and he quickly disengaged his own, falling to the ground to avoid the worst of it. He swayed on his feet, exhausted by the effort. His friends crowded around, all jabbering away all at once. The only thing he could make out was the question on everyone's mind; was Hao dead?

A loud crash interrupted the questions, making everyone jumped. As the dust and the light from the destruction of the Spirit of Fire dissipated Yoh could make out a crater that had definitely not been there before only a few feet in front of the Great Spirit. Yoh lurched towards it, his body screaming in protest.

As he got closer he could hear the sound of gasped, painful struggles for air. He staggered to the lip of crater and looked down, immediately wishing he hadn't. Hao was down there, but his body was broken. Yoh could see bloodstained bone poking through skin in various areas, and the cream poncho had turned a sickly dark red-brown from the amount of blood Hao was losing.

"Ha!" The harsh laugh came from Lyserg. Yoh looked over to see a savage, triumphant grin on his friend's face. Yoh ignored the sentiments from his friends and set down Harusame and slid down into the crater.

"What are you doing?" seemed to be the general consensus from his friends. Yoh ignored them once again and focused on Hao. One look was all he needed to know that even if he miraculously got him to a doctor immediately Hao was dying.

Dark, pain-clouded but still sharp eyes watched him and bloodstained lips attempted to quirk up into their usual smirk. "So, you...won..." The words were forced out painfully, breathlessly as Hao struggled for air. "Guess... you're not as much... as much of an idiot... as I... thought."

Yoh felt a lump rise in his throat as he watched his brother fight to simply stay conscious. Why did Hao have to force his hand like this? Why couldn't he have gotten the chance to get through to him before he was forced to make this impossible decision? Yoh knelt down, still staring Hao in the eyes as he did so.

"You... haven't won... I'll be back again..." Hao's teeth gritted. "you've... only ensured... that I'll be even... even stronger."

"I know." Yoh whispered, tears pricking at his eyes. He gently lifted Hao's head off the ground, wincing when Hao let out a bubbly gasp of pain, and set it down in his lap. "I didn't want this." He admitted quietly, allowing the building tears to fall.

Hao's brow furrowed as he stared and slowly his hand reached up to touch Yoh's face, as though not entirely sure what he was seeing was real. "You... you cry... for me...?" He asked in a tone of mixed wonder and incredulousness. In that moment the sputtering spark fled from Hao's eyes, leaving the dark orbs flat and lifeless as his hand thudded back to the ground.

"Good riddance." Lyserg spat from above him. "Yoh, you shouldn't have-"

"Yoh did what Yoh does best, and I'm glad he did." Ren interrupted. "I don't think even Hao deserved to die alone."

"We should give him a proper burial, or cremate him." Yoh murmured, closing Hao's empty eyes.

"Why? Let the vultures have him!" Lyserg said shrilly, angry at how much Yoh seemed to care.

"To do so would be incredibly disrespectfully, and though you don't believe he deserves any respect from us, I do." Yoh said fiercely. He lifted Hao's body into his arms. "Is anyone going to help me?" Slowly his friends all nodded their heads.

%&%&%&%

Yoh watched the last few embers slowly cool as the funeral pyre burned itself out. He looked down at his hand, staring at the blood-flecked earring he'd taken, to remind himself. He brushed his thumb against the cool metal sadly and then put it in his pocket.

"He was right, you know." Anna said quietly. "We've only made him stronger."

"I know, but there was nothing else left I could have done, not in that moment." Yoh answered.

"He'll be back." Yoh nodded. "What are we going to do about that?"

"We should do what he does." Yoh replied. "We've fought him once, it'll be easier for us rather than someone who's never encountered him before to beat him again." He explained. He didn't even mention his other idea, which was that maybe he would have a chance to make things right, but most of his friends probably knew that's what he wanted already.

"We'll do it too." Horohoro said. "The more the better, right?" Yoh nodded his head, smiling sadly at all of them. They still had a lot of work to do.

%&%&%&%

_The tournament never restarted, not in our lifetimes. The theory going around was that the Great Spirit needed time to recover from what had happened to it. Most of us didn't mind; we were weary of fights and death. It was good to just go home and live our lives. _

_All of us managed to live quite comfortable lives as well. It was almost as if we were being rewarded for what we prevented. Anna never got to be Shaman Queen, but she learned to be content with being the owner of the most successful and demanded traditional inn in all of Tokyo. As for me, I settled into life nicely, became a father, lived a good long life, but it always felt as though there were things left unfinished, a missing part in my story. I hoped that the next time around would help me find those things._

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Wolf: *Bellatrix Lestrange voice* I killed Hao Asakura! HAHAHHAHA! Seriously though, what do you think of that?


	2. Chapter 2

Wolf: Next chappie! I own nothing

_You don't realize just how much changes in five hundred years until you see it for yourself. In 2267 a supervirus wiped out all but a quarter of the world's population, which was stabilized at about 10 billion at the time, in the space of two short years. The population never fully recovered._

_In 2389 a fleet of alien spacecraft were found orbiting Earth. They were the last remnants of a bipedal, cat-like race known as by humans as Felids, in their own tongue it sounds like a combination of a purr and a hiss, impossible for human tongues to pronounce. Their planet had been destroyed by a fluctuating sun's solar flares, and they sought sanctuary on Earth. _

_Humanity agreed, and the Felids became permanent residents on the planet and soon after it was found that humans and Felids were compatible and able to have children together. The Felids had a specific view of hybrid species; they didn't like them. Their mindset was that a hybrid was stupid and good for nothing but menial tasks, in other words, slavery. Unfortunately some humans liked the idea and legal slavery was introduced on planet Earth for the first time since before the Civil War. _

_Guess what I got reincarnated as? If you guessed a hybrid, you would be right. My father was a descendant of the Asakuras, but my mother was a Felid. Why didn't she have an abortion if they didn't like hybrids? Oddly enough they have a taboo against that, even if it's just going to be a hybrid child. So I'm a slave, no guardian spirit, no friends and the Shaman King tournament is starting soon; not exactly a good combination, huh?_

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Yoh's black tail tip twitched in agitation as he stood there, his hands still bound behind his back. Dark soulful eyes blinked out over the empty chairs which would later be filled with men and women bidding to take him. He tried to relax a little but his large, black, cat-like ears folded back in response to his unease.

He was lucky, he supposed. He didn't look too much different from other humans. He didn't look too much different from his first life in fact. He was about 5'7'', slimly built with lean muscle from his years working for various masters. He'd cut his hair in his old style, but it was black instead of his old chestnut, and very coarse, almost like an animal's pelt. The only inhuman things about him were the long, prehensile tail, the ears, and the line of fur that ran down his spine to his tail. His nails were harder and came in more pointed than a regular human, but they could be cut.

It was actually quite easy to pass as a human if he hid those things, which he'd done before. What wasn't easy was that everything was done using ID in this day and age, and being a slave, he didn't have ID, so the only way he could get things was to steal. He'd run away several times in the last few years and gotten caught each time.

The first couple he only managed to get away for a couple hours and got whipped, which he still bore the scars from. The next time he got sold. The next couple times he managed to avoid capture for a couple weeks, but he was always found, even if he went away from civilization.

He realized that the identifying chip in his ear was also a tracker, and ripped it out on his last escape. There was a nick in his left ear because of that. His last attempt he was free for six months, but was captured when he fell ill and tried to get himself antibiotics in a nearby town. Unfortunately for him, he was picked up by a whorehouse owner who thought he looked pretty.

He was now standing up on the stage where later that night his virginity would be sold to the highest bidder. He gritted his teeth, already thinking of ways to get out. His new owner had not taken his binds off though, probably thinking that he would make a run for it.

"Too bad about the scarring." The overweight, balding man sighed. "Though some people like a fighter, eh?" Yoh tried not to cringe at the thought of what someone who liked a fighter might do to him. He needed a plan to get out, now!

Footsteps interrupted his frantic thoughts and he looked up to see someone making their way down the aisle towards the stage. It was hard to say anything about them, because they were wearing a long black cloak with the hood up. A silver mask dominated the upper half of their face, leaving only the tip of their nose, part of their cheeks and mouth visible.

"Hey, we're not open yet." The whorehouse master growled. The intruder halted by the stage, face upturned towards Yoh and put his hands on his hips, revealing a pair of black pants and a dark blue dress shirt under the cloak.

"How much for him?" The deep, masculine voice reminded Yoh absurdly of melted chocolate.

"Bidding starts later tonight, if you don't mind-"

"I wasn't asking about taking him for the night, I am asking how much for you to sell him to me." The stranger said impatiently. Yoh's mind went into overdrive. One the one hand it was good that he was being considered for sale, it was easier to escape from a private home, but on the other hand, a man that came looking for a slave in a whorehouse couldn't be looking for an ordinary house slave.

"I just got him." The whorehouse owner hissed. "I'm not going to-" The stranger shoved a data pad under his nose. The fat, greasy slob looked at it and his eyes widened before narrowing in greed. "How do I know you can pay up?" He asked suspiciously. The stranger typed something into the data pad and showed it to the owner again. "I'll require the sum to be transferred immediately.

"Of course." The stranger replied smoothly, doing so casually. "You can remove his bindings, and get him a shirt." He said in a tone that suggested he was used to being obeyed. The owner waddled away, coming back with a shirt.

He undid the ties and handed Yoh the shirt, which he donned gratefully. "Come." His new master ordered, crooking his fingers at him. Yoh felt the fur on his back bristle, but forced his face into a mask of complacency and got off the stage, walking towards the man. The man's eyes didn't leave him as he walked, making Yoh feel even more agitated.

Yoh was close enough now to see that the man who had bought him was a couple inches taller than him. He appeared slim, but muscular, but it was hard to tell with all the clothes in the way. He was clean-shaven, with a narrow chin. Yoh ventured a look at the mask and saw that the eyeholes had black jeweled lenses over them, so he couldn't tell the color of his eyes, nor the color of his hair thanks to the hood.

The man said nothing, but simply turned and headed out of the whorehouse. Yoh fought the urge to flip the owner off; he'd gotten a little too touchy feely a couple times. But he simply played the part of a subservient slave and followed his new master out of the whorehouse.

They were on the outskirts of one of the big cities, Yoh couldn't tell which. Parked in front was a deep red hover car. He considered making a run for it, but glanced at his new master again, figuring the guy probably was a bit of an athlete with that build. He would simply bide his time then.

The man opened the passenger door of the hover car for him. Yoh went and sat down inside, feeling uncomfortably closed in as the door shut again. His new master got in, not even glancing at him and started up the vehicle, putting it on autopilot.

"You may want to go to sleep or something, it's a bit of a ways to home." The man said, pulling out his data pad. Yoh couldn't tell, but he thought that the man was working on something, from the way his lips pursed and then spread into a thin line, he didn't like what he was seeing.

The hover car lifted off smoothly, ascending slowly over top of the high skyscrapers. It levelled off and Yoh slid lower in his seat. He couldn't help but sneak a glance out the window and was glad of the fact that he had not eaten anything when his stomach plummeted at the sight of the ground so far away. It wasn't that he didn't like heights, he just didn't like being so high up in something that if the power failed would plummet to the ground killing him.

He glanced over at his new master, but the man seemed engrossed in his work. Yoh idly wondered why he wore such concealing clothes. Was he scarred, somehow? Was it a matter of vanity? Was he someone who was wanted? Did he just not want people to know who he is? He pondered the question for a little while until his new master seemed to sense his gaze and turned to look at him.

Yoh looked away quickly, pretending disinterest. He felt the man's eyes bore into the back of his head for a couple minutes, and then he looked away again. Yoh breathed an inaudible sigh of relief; he needed to play the part of a good slave until he could escape, and that meant following the degrading rules like no eye contact and saying 'master' all the time. It grated on him, but it would be worth it in the end.

Yoh curled up as much as he could in the seat, his tail curling up around him. One thing that had changed was his ability to fall asleep wherever, whenever. He'd spent too much time looking over his shoulder to be that comfortable anymore, and so it was a long while before he fell completely asleep.

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Wolf: Review plz


	3. Chapter 3

Wolf: I own nothing!

_The nightmare was always the same. I was chained, standing before a judge's bench in a courtroom. I can hear the whispers of voices around me, but there's nothing but blackness around me. 'Murderer' the whispers say, 'sinner', they accuse. _

_A figure begins to appear in the judge's chair. It is Hao of course and he looks down on me chained in front of him with contempt and hatred. "Yoh Asakura," He says, his voice devoid of emotion. "You are accused of fratricide, murder in the first degree, how do you plead?"_

_What else can I say? "Guilty." My voice says. "But I didn't want-"_

"_The defendant has accepted the guilty plea." Hao interrupts me, his black eyes glittering with malice. "What is the desired sentence?"_

'_Death!' 'Kill him!' Make him suffer!' The unseen voices around me scream. Hao's lips curl up in a satisfied smirk. _

"_So be it." He whispers. Fire bursts up around me, slowly creeping in towards me as Hao laughs above me-_

Yoh jerked upright, breathing heavily, sweating. He tried to bring his racing heart under control and took a few calming breaths. "What was that about?" He nearly had a heart attack at the sound of the deep, smooth voice that spoke right beside him. He whipped his head around and found himself looking at a silver mask and remembering that he'd been bought from the whorehouse.

"It was just a dream, nothing for you to concern yourself about, master." The word master always left a bad taste in his mouth, but he was smart enough not to let that dislike show.

"Hm." His new master said simply and turned back to the data pad in his hands. Yoh snuck a quick peek out the window and his heart skipped a beat. A glittering metropolis loomed on the horizon, its skyline still familiar even though the buildings had been upgraded and much of the old razed. It was Tokyo, or New Tokyo, as it had been dubbed after the plague that claimed nearly all of its inhabitants and ran off the rest of them for a good fifty years.

Yoh hoped that Amidamaru wasn't angry for making him wait so long. He knew the cemetery was still there, it was considered of historical significance, and so it had not been touched. Amidamaru had agreed to wait for him, and Yoh was eternally grateful that he had.

The car was soon within the city, but still above the large buildings. It began its descent over a tall, elegantly built skyscraper that gave the illusion that it was simply made out of glass. The hovercar parked on top of the roof, a spot designated usually for the penthouse owner. It made sense, if the man was willing to throw enough money at a whorehouse owner to practically make him drool, he must be a rich man indeed.

His new owner opened his door and stepped out, pausing in his walk to open Yoh's door. Yoh thought absurdly of a gentlemen holding open the door for his lady as he got up, stretching muscles that had cramped after sitting for so long. He let out a jaw-cracking yawn as he obediently followed the stranger inside.

They took the stairs down a level and stepped out into a richly carpeted hallway. His new master put his thumb on the identification pad and the door unlocked. He ushered Yoh in and closed the door behind them both.

Yoh stepped into what he knew was an open concept room. He stood in a small area that could be designated as the front hall, a closet to the left of him. Moving further in there was a kitchen dominating the left side, all the counter space and appliances against the wall. There was no table in the kitchen and the room extended into a large living area with a section of the floor that was set lower than the rest that appeared to be a modified couch filled with cushions and pillows.

An entire wall was just simply one big window looking out onto the city. A flat screen television, large without being grotesquely gargantuan hung on the wall kitty corner to the window. Opposite the wall on which the TV hung was another door leading into a hallway with several other doors leading off it. The floor was imitation wood, real wood had been banned as a commercial good for the last 200 years.

"Take your clothes off." His new master orders from behind him. Yoh stiffened slightly, he'd not expected to be used so quickly. There was nothing for it though, the man probably had activated the 'safety lock' which would only allow the exit of someone who's thumbprint was in the door's database.

Slowly he removed his shirt, then his pants and, hesitating for just a moment, his boxers. He stood still, waiting for further orders. Instead, his new master began to walk around him, inspecting him from every angle. The feeling of being scrutinized made him lay his ears back and the ridge of fur along his spine stood straight up.

"You can put your clothes back on." The man finally said. Yoh's ears shot up in disbelief, but he didn't question it, in case the man changed his mind. He quickly put back on his clothes and turned to face his new master, looking down respectfully. "You could almost pass as human, couldn't you?"

"I suppose so, master." Yoh replied, staring at the man's black boots.

"The scars, where are they from?" His master asked. Yoh gnawed at his lip, wondering if he should tell the truth or lie. He realized it didn't matter what he said, if he had scars, he was obviously disobedient.

"I tried to escape, master." He answered truthfully.

"I thought that might be it. You ripped out your identification chip." His master observed. "Found out it could track you, I'd wager."

Yoh swallowed. It wasn't good that his master realized he was in fact smarter than people believed hybrids to be. It meant that he would be more on his guard and less likely to leave Yoh opportunities to escape.

"It would be unwise of you to try and run here." His master warned. "City folk are less... kind if they believe they've found an escaped slave. Bad things have happened here and in other cities to your kind."

"I understand, master." Yoh said, though the warning did nothing to dampen his desire to escape. He could fight, and he could run.

"What is your name, boy?" His master asked.

"My name is Yoh."

"An unusual name." The man observed coolly. "Old Japanese, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't know, master." Yoh lied. "I heard it and liked it, so I made it mine."

"Hm." Yoh could feel the man's eyes boring into his, trying to find the lie. "Can you cook?" Yoh blinked at the odd change in questioning.

"I can cook well enough for myself, but a great man as yourself is probably used to much fancier fare." Yoh said tactfully. He was further confused when the man's lips curled up in a faint smile.

"I am often away, and so my meals consist mostly of the ready-made meals." He explained. "A home-cooked meal is not something I see often."

"Ah." Yoh was even more confused. So, he hadn't been picked up to be a bed slave, or was he going to do both.

"I suppose I should tell you your duties." His master sighed. "You're going to be my house slave, which means you take care of cooking and cleaning, understand?" Yoh nodded his head, feeling a sense of relief flood through him. "If I think of anything else, I will tell you, but for now that's the basics of it."

"May I ask a question, master?" The man nodded his head. "Why did you go looking for a simple house slave in a whorehouse?"

"Something compelled me to go in." His master said simply. "I've grown to realize it's well-advised to listen to such compulsions."

"Oh." Yoh didn't really know what to say to that. The man looked at him for a long moment more and then wandered into the kitchen area, opening cupboards and checking in the fridge and freezer.

"Not much to work with." He sighed. "I'll have to go out and run some errands then. Just make yourself comfortable while I'm gone, alright?"

"Yes, master." Yoh replied. The man nodded his head and headed to the door. The door closed and Yoh was left alone.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	4. Chapter 4

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh waited after the door closed, counting to five hundred in his head. When he finished he quietly padded to the door and tried the handle. To his infinite relief and surprise it turned for him. He turned away from the door and found a pair of boots to wear. There were no hats or hoods that would enable him to hide his ears without drawing attention to him, so he decided to go as a slave on errands.

He waited another ten minutes, in case his new master forgot something and came back, and then turned the door handle and stepped into the hallway. He stood there for a moment, waiting to see if he'd tripped an alarm or something. When nothing happened he closed the door behind him; no turning back now.

He pushed the button to bring the elevator up. The doors opening almost immediately made him jump. He stepped inside, finding the far wall was just simply a giant window. He pushed the button for the main floor and his stomach plummeted as the elevator shot downwards, faster than any elevator he'd been on in his first life.

His stomach churned slightly as the elevator came to an abrupt stop and he was now glad of the fact that he'd had little to eat in the last couple days. He made his way across the entranceway, putting on the act of a slave out on errands while sweating in terror at the thought of being caught. Nobody looked twice at him though, and he relaxed a little bit and opened the door, walking out into the city.

He breathed in the air, doing so in the old Tokyo would have made him start coughing uncontrollably because of the pollution, but the cars, buses and trains were all ecofriendly now. Gone too was most of the litter that used to plague cities.

Yoh set out at a fast trot, heading towards Funbari hill, or what used to be Funbari hill. He'd find Amidamaru, dig up Harusame, which he'd buried on the hill, and then find his way to America for when the Shaman King tournament started, all without being captured. He nearly laughed aloud, it all sounded so easy inside his head.

He walked for a couple minutes and then decided to duck through the alleyways, at least there he could run without being seen. That was his mistake. He turned a corner and a large, rough-looking man was standing there, grinning nastily.

"What do we have here, a runaway?" He asked. Yoh quickly considered his odds, if it was only one man he had the advantage, he had the knowledge of a samurai's fighting technique. He was about to go on the defence when he was grabbed from behind. He hadn't heard them come up behind him!

He squirmed wildly, bucking and snapped at the hands that held him until a hard fist drove into his solar plexus, leaving him limp and struggling to suck in a breath of air. He was wrenched backwards, his upper arms held behind him strongly and his body arched forward painfully. A knife was placed at his throat, digging in just slightly.

Yoh froze, knowing that any movement would dig that blade into his throat. "What a bad little kitty cat." The leader of the little gang that had captured him chuckled. "Don't you know that it's bad to run and then fight against your betters?"

"If my betters were here maybe I wouldn't fight." Yoh hissed, dropping his 'idiot slave' act. If they were going to take him down, he at least wanted to give them something to remember it by.

"Naughty, naughty, I think someone needs to be taught a lesson." The man began undoing his belt. Yoh's eyes widened as hands reached down to start pulling down his own pants and underwear. He was trapped, he couldn't get out and he was about to be violated in one of the worst ways imaginable.

"I suggest you let him go." Yoh recognised the voice that spoke, but not the cold tone with which it spoke.

"Hey, this ain't none of your business." One of the men said.

"It is if it is my slave." His master replied, coming to stand in the corner of Yoh's vision. "While he is unprotected by laws governing rape, if my property is damaged, or about to be damaged, I am allowed to... take it out of your hides, shall we say." There was a deadliness to his voice, for all that he sounded pleasant.

"Yah, he was running, what about that?" The gang leader sneered.

"He was running errands for me, told to be back at a specific time." His master looked at him, the silver mask glinting. "You're late."

"I'm sorry master." Yoh said, letting his ears droop, looking every inch the apologetic slave. "I was trying to take a short cut, but got all turned around."

"I will deal with that when we get home." His master replied. "Release my slave."

"What are you going to do about it?" Yoh only saw the billow of his master's cape as he moved and then suddenly the gang leader was on the ground, yowling in pain.

"Would anyone else care to try me?" His master said in an icy tone. The hands holding Yoh released him and running footsteps told him the others had fled. A moment of silence stretched as Yoh and his master stared at each other. The man stormed up to him and grabbed his wrist, all but dragging him from the alley.

Yoh didn't even try to get out of the hard grip, the sheer anger that radiated off his master frightened him, and he found himself folding his ears back, tail drooping. Nobody even gave them a second glance as they walked through the streets; why should they? A slave being chastised was hardly new.

His master was quiet all the way to the building and up the elevator. He pushed Yoh into the apartment. "I thought maybe I wasn't going to have to use the safety lock, I thought that you were smart enough for me not to have to keep you practically tied down to avoid having you do something stupid, but I guess I was wrong." Yoh's ears drooped even further. "Do you imagine that I cautioned you about the city to hear the sound of my own voice?" His master demanded, lifting his chin so that they were looking each other in the eyes, or where his master's eyes should be, anyways. "If I had not come, I think you know what would have happened. I am putting the safety lock on, so you're shut in, like an animal." Yoh was released. "Go sit down."

So, he was going to draw out the punishment? Yoh hated that. He'd rather get it done and over with, take the lashes and then be left alone to lick his wounds. He went and sat down on the cushions in the living room. He really had been stupid, running out with a half-assed plan and it had nearly gotten him raped, possibly tortured, and killed. Without realizing it he began to shake, the shock finally overwhelming the adrenaline in his system.

"Drink this." Yoh jumped at his master's voice. The man was kneeling in front of him, holding out a mug. Yoh took it and sniffed at it suspiciously. "It's herbal tea, it'll soothe you." The man's voice was gentler than before. Yoh didn't smell anything wrong with the tea so he carefully sipped at it. The warmth soothed him and his hunched shoulders relaxed a little. "Better. I will not punish you this time, because I believe that scare was punishment enough, but if you attempt to escape again, you will force my hand." He said that almost sadly, as though it were something he really didn't want to do.

"I understand, master." The man's lips quirked upwards slightly.

"I imagine you don't like it though." Yoh said nothing, let his face reveal nothing. Could this man read his thoughts or something? He sipped his tea carefully, not saying a word. "I brought you ingredients for food, clothes and this." Yoh recoiled, ears folding back angrily at the sight of the collar. "Don't much like this, do you? Well, it'll only be used when I feel you can be trusted enough to run errands for me. It is simply to tell anyone else on the street that you belong to someone and they shouldn't mess with you." He explained gently. "I did not want to do something as permanent as a chip, so this was the next best thing."

Yoh eyed the thing with distaste until his new master put it away. "Where did you put my new clothes, master?"

"There's a spare bedroom, first on the left, I put your things in there and you can use that as your room." Yoh's ears shot straight up in surprise.

"My own room?" He squeaked out. It was always either sleeping in barracks, the barn, or on the floor somewhere. At best he'd expected to sleep in the living room on all the cushions, but this man was letting him have his own room.

"Yes." The man said simply. "I see no reason why you shouldn't."

"Thank you, master."

"Go try your clothes on, I'm not sure if they'll fit or not."

Yoh obeyed and padded into the room, his room! He opened the drawers and encountered another surprise. The clothes in them were of good make, not the poorly made, scratchy, misshapen clothing that slaves normally wore.

"Master, I think there's been an error." He called. The man came in the room and Yoh held up one of the shirts he'd been given. "These are too fine to be slave clothes."

"Would you rather have that which is considered slave clothes?" He asked smoothly. Yoh shook his head. "I suggest you don't look a gift horse in the mouth then." He then left the room without another word. Yoh shook his head, his new owner was confusing him more and more.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	5. Chapter 5

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh spent a little bit of time in his room, familiarizing himself with it. There wasn't much in it, just the dresser, an empty set of shelves, a desk and a bed. Since the room was on the inner portion of the building there was no window, but the back wall had a vidscreen designed to look like a window looking over a blue sky. Yoh touched the controls beside it, changing the view from snowy, to rainy, to thunderstorms and then back to sun again.

"Yes, I'm cancelling my subscription with your maid service." Yoh's ears twitched at the sound of his master's voice. He crept to the doorway and stood there, head cocked, listening. "Problems? Yes. The previous maid was fine, but the new one you sent me is lazy and if I'm home attempts to come on to me at every chance she gets. My complaints have been ignored on several occasions, so I have taken the liberty of finding my own replacement." Yoh heard him pause as though listening. "No, after the third time being ignored I don't believe there's anything you can do to make it up to me. If you insist on sending her again you'll find that her fingerprint has been erased from the door's databank and the police would be on their way for attempted trespassing. Good day."

Yoh retreated back into the room, sitting on his bed. It wouldn't do for him to be caught in a position that looked like he was spying after all. He was trying to think of whose voice his master's voice reminded him of when he heard the quiet pad of footsteps coming close. He stood up, standing at attention, ready for orders.

"I see you've decided to try on your new clothes." His master observed as he stepped into the room. Yoh had exchanged the clothes he'd been wearing for a white work shirt.

"Not the pants, master." Yoh replied. "I'll have to make some alterations on those, for my tail." He said, twisting the aforementioned limb in the air.

"Ah, I should have thought of that." His master said, lips pulling into a wry smile. "I'll show you where the sewing materials are after I make sure you won't burn down my apartment attempting to cook."

Yoh didn't know what to make of the joke, so he simply followed the man out without saying a word. His master watched him as he went around the kitchen, demonstrating that he knew how to work all the appliances correctly. It didn't bother him as much as it would have some other places, because his new master wasn't treating him like an idiot, rather more like a new employee who he wasn't sure knew how to work everything.

"Well, you seem to be adept at working the appliances, let's see if your cooking is as good." His master finally declared.

"Any requests?" Yoh asked.

"Surprise me." The man said simply and walked out of the room down the hallway. Yoh shrugged his shoulders and rolled up his sleeves. He looked in all the cupboards and in the fridge, tail lazily flicking back and forth as he considered what he should make for his master. In the end he decided to make a bacon, asparagus and cheese omelette.

His stomach growled as he prepared the meal, but he knew that he could only eat if his master allowed it and settled for munching on a couple asparagus shoots to take an edge off the hunger. He didn't know if the man would be one of those masters who obsessively checked and rechecked to make sure things weren't going missing, so he didn't want to push his luck.

"It's ready master!" He called, plating the omelette and pouring a glass of water to go with it. His master emerged. Yoh was intrigued by the fact that he had yet to remove his hood or his mask, even in the comfort of his own home.

His master took the plate and the glass from him with thanks and turned to walk away, but stopped. "Did you not make anything for yourself?" Yoh blinked in confusion at the question.

"I saw no food fit only for a slave in there, master." Like the clothes, slave food was low quality, most of the time just a tasteless mash. On some of the farms Yoh had worked on the slaves' food would be a stew of whatever scraps were left, which could be very good, or very bad depending on the scraps. To Yoh's surprise, the man's lip curled up in a sneer.

"That disgusting gruel? I wouldn't let a dog eat it. It's an offence to call that crap food." Yoh openly gaped at him. "You have permission to eat anything that is available for consumption in this apartment, whenever you want."

"You can't be serious." Yoh said, disbelief lacing his tone.

"I am." The man replied simply. "I understand that you're having a hard time dealing with this, but I am no sadist, I take no pleasure in causing others pain, and I find no pleasure in cruel tricks, either."

Yoh wished he could see the man's eyes so he could get an idea of whether or not he was being lied to. His master sounded truthful, but the eyes could be saying something different. His stomach rumbled again, and he figured that if it did turn out to be a lie, he could at least have a decent meal before it was ripped away from him.

He turned back to the stove and set out making another omelette for himself. When he next looked up he saw that the man had left the room again. He was contemplative as he made his lunch. From the surface it seemed like he'd landed in a very good situation. He was cautious though, wondering if there was some ulterior motive in the man's friendliness towards him.

He finished with his omelette and ate leaning against the counter. It was the best meal he'd had in this life by far. Living on the lamb was all well and good, but he had to make do with what he could find in the woods and occasionally in barns, and what could be roasted over an open fire. It would be nice if he could have more meals like this, but he didn't want to get his hopes up too high. He would savour this moment, in case he didn't get another.

"I think you put too little faith in your cooking skills." His master commented from behind him. His mouth smiled at Yoh's perplexed look. "The food was good, very good. Better than quite a few places I've worked at, in fact."

"Your compliments are kind, master." Yoh said, properly subservient. His master stared at him for a long moment, and Yoh wondered just how far he saw into the 'obedient slave' act.

"You wanted the sewing materials for your pants, correct?" Yoh nodded his head. The man opened one of the cupboards and reached for the very top shelf, rummaging around. He handed Yoh a small box. Yoh forgot himself enough to give the man a bemused look. "It may look neat in here, but my organization is pretty scattered. You'll be surprised at where you'll find things."

"Okay master." Yoh replied. The man placed his dishes on the counter and wandered away again. Yoh shook his head slightly, but finished up with the dishes. He took the sewing kit back to his room and started by measuring exactly how big a flap he would have to cut.

He cut out a hole in the seat where his tail would poke out. He then cut the patch he'd cut out of the pants into a rectangular and sewed it over the top of the hole to act as a sort of flap that would ensure that the tail would be the only thing that would show. He then cut away the ragged edges of the hole and sewed them up so they would not split further.

As he was working on his third pair of pants his ears perked up at the sound of music. It wasn't the popular music of this era, which seemed to be all clanking and echoey synthesizer-like sounds. Yoh didn't think much of it, some of the higher pitches hurt his ears and the singing was mostly screeching in his opinion.

This music though, was classical, orchestral. It wasn't a piece that he immediately recognised, but he thought it might be Beethoven. Curiously he padded out of his room and down the hall to find the source of the music. A room near the end of the hallway seemed to be where it was coming from.

Cautiously he peeked around the corner of the doorway and found his master sitting at a desk in what was clearly an office. A holographic display on the desk top was showing what appeared to be a manufacturing facility of some kind. The man was typing something into his data pad as he rotated the display. He suddenly looked up.

"Yes, Yoh?" Yoh was a little bewildered by the man's continued use of his name. Most people just called him slave, or boy, or kitty cat if they were being really rude.

"The music..." He managed to stutter out.

"It's Beethoven. He's a composer from a long time ago." His master explained. "A bit different from what you're used to, isn't it?"

"Yes... It's beautiful." Yoh said, letting the sound wash over him. Listening to this reminded Yoh of his mother, how she would take him to concerts and musicals in order to instil a love of the arts in him. His heart ached a little bit.

"Not many people seem to think so anymore." His master sighed regretfully. "Thankfully such relics are considered to be treasures, of cultural significance, so they will not be destroyed."

"That's good, such beauty shouldn't be destroyed."

_Maybe it was foolish to get my hopes up, but this master seemed different. He treated me almost like I was another human being, which was not unheard of, but fairly rare. Maybe he was one of the ones that thought slavery was wrong; maybe he only bought me because he felt sorry for me, I don't know. Whatever the reason, right now my life seemed like a gift from whatever gods were out there. _

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Wolf: Review plz!


	6. Chapter 6

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh was woken up from a deep sleep by a shake on his shoulder. He grumbled sleepily, but finally the touch registered and he shot straight up, falling out of the bed in his haste to obey his master's summons. He grimaced and rubbed at his head, looking up at the glint of sunlight off his master's silver mask.

"Try not to hurt yourself." The man said with some amusement in his voice. "I am leaving for work, but I wanted to give you your instructions for the day."

"Yes master." Yoh groaned, rolling over and standing up.

"Your task for today is to organize the kitchen." The man said. "Everything is out of place, tossed willy-nilly and it's starting to get on my nerves."

"One of the things your maid didn't get done?" Yoh asked, clamping his mouth shut as soon as he'd said it. How would his master react to knowing he'd been spying? The man's lips only quirked up in what looked like amusement.

"Exactly. I'm sure you'll find that the cupboards and such will be in need of a scrubbing when you clear everything out of them. It's a bit of a task, which is why it's the only thing I have you doing for the day."

"If I finish?" Yoh asked. His master shrugged.

"Find something to entertain yourself with. The television is free for you to use. The cupboard underneath has a couple of gaming consoles, but try not to break them, please." Yoh stared at him in disbelief. "I have to work now, can I trust that you will have your work done by the time I get back?"

"Ah, yes master." Yoh stammered out. He pulled on some clothes and followed his master to the front hallway, watching him as he pulled on his boots.

"Oh, I'll be back by six, and I'll be wanting dinner soon after I get home, if you please." His master added before walking out the door. Yoh didn't even bother to check if the safety lock had been engaged. He'd tried it in the middle of the night and it would not open for him.

He sighed and decided to make himself breakfast before he did anything. He whipped up some oatmeal with fresh raspberries in it and lazily ate it while looking out the window, down onto the city. It bustled like it did back in his first life, and he was glad for the familiarity it offered. He finished up his breakfast and washed it down with some orange juice, cleaning his dishes.

He then began to pull open drawers and cupboards to see what the damage was. His master certainly hadn't been kidding when he said it was a mess. There were bowls in with cutlery, cups with the pots, and all manner of odds and end just stuck wherever.

He decided just to take everything out and figure out where to put it all after everything was clean. Underneath the plates, cups, cutlery, spices and whatever else had been in the drawers and cupboards he found crumbs and stains on the imitation wood, some of them looking as though someone had simply put dirty dishes away without cleaning them because they were lazy. Yoh guessed it was the incompetent maid.

He filled the sink with water and bleach and set about scrubbing down every surface he could find. When he was done this he began to put everything back in, with an actual plan this time. Things that definitely did not belong in the kitchen, like pens, tape and even a pair of socks (?) were put aside for his master to decide how to deal with later on.

Once he was finished organizing the cupboards he took a break for lunch, making himself pancakes and bacon. He was actually finding he was enjoying this work. He could go at his own pace because it was all that he had to do for the day, and he was allowed to eat what he wanted. A part of him wondered if this was all some elaborate scheme, but he decided to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

When he was finished he decided, since he didn't really feel like simply watching TV for hours, to see if there was anything else in the kitchen he could clean. The inside of the microwave was stained, so he cleaned that. He then moved on to the fridge and realized the insides could use a scrubbing down as well. By the time he finally sat down on the cushions in the living room, the kitchen all but sparkled.

For once in his life he actually felt proud of the work he did, for some odd reason. Maybe it was because of the way his new master treated him, maybe it was the way he'd gone above and beyond what he was meant to do, but in any case, he felt good.

He found the remote for the TV, hiding under some pillows and laid down on his stomach, turning it on. He had a couple of hours to kill before he would have to start making dinner. He turned on the news channel to catch up on current events. He'd try to sneak a peek at peoples' data pads or a TV anywhere to see the news, he didn't like not knowing what was going on in the world.

There wasn't much to see, other than another instance of slaves trying to turn on their owner on a farm somewhere in the United States. It didn't happen often, but this was the fourth time in the last year, so it got Yoh's attention. The last several years there had been a steady increase in the number of slaves escaping or attempting to attack or overpower their owners.

'_Intelligent beings don't like being kept down.'_ Yoh thought to himself. It didn't help that some humans were becoming disillusioned with the slave trade and were nicer to slaves. That sort of thing trickled down through the grapevine, stirred people up. A light in the darkness always drudged up the desire to fight for it, no matter the cost.

A steady beeping noise interrupted his thoughts. His ears swivelled, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. He turned this way and that and a little light blinking on the top of the phone hung on the wall caught his attention. He debated answering it, and then decided that since his master had given him no orders about phones he would just leave it alone.

After a couple minutes the beeping stopped and a low tone sounded. **"Socrates, this is councilman Marco, we regret to inform you that we are having to push back our meeting once again, something else has come up. The council will now see you on May 18****th**** at 0900 hours. That is all." **

Yoh got the sense from the voice that the council didn't regret at all having to push back the meeting. Also, Socrates? Really? Yoh had a feeling it was only a pseudonym, or a private joke, but it didn't matter, because now he had something other than 'master' to refer to in his head.

He started on dinner at about a quarter to six, deciding to make a stir fry. At only a couple minutes after 6 the front door opened and Socrates walked in. He sighed as he removed his boots, sounding weary. Yoh wondered what kind of job he had.

"That smell is a wonderful thing to come home to." Socrates commented, half to himself. Yoh heard his quiet footsteps, but didn't turn around. The same message from earlier played out in the silent penthouse. Yoh turned slightly to see Socrates' reaction to the message. The lips pursed and he frowned slightly, but then sighed. "Can't say I didn't expect that." He muttered.

"I wasn't sure if I should answer the phone, master, so I didn't." Yoh explained.

"Probably for the best if you didn't. Most of the time it's to talk business or to yell at me, so I'd rather take the calls myself if I can." Socrates replied. "Wow, this kitchen almost sparkles." He complimented. "What's all this though?" He asked, indicating the pile of stuff Yoh had placed on the floor.

"That's stuff that doesn't belong in the kitchen at all, so I thought I'd better leave it, not knowing where you wanted any of it." Yoh answered.

"Hmm, probably for the best, I hadn't realized it had become this disorganized." Socrates mumbled to himself. "I'll deal with it after dinner, is it ready?" He asked hopefully. Yoh nodded his head, taking out a couple of bowls and putting a generous serving of the stir fry in each. Socrates nodded his thanks and padded over to the couch area, sitting down and turning on the television.

Yoh leaned against the counter to eat, until Socrates' voice drifted to him. "You can come over here and eat, you know." Yoh looked up, finding Socrates looking at him, his lips curled up in a faint smirk. There was something about that smirk... Yoh shook the thought out of his head and padded over, settling down on the cushions and leaned against the pillows.

Socrates nodded, seemingly in satisfaction and turned back to the program he was watching. Yoh looked as well and was surprised to see that he'd changed it to an oldies channel and was watching an original episode of CSI. Yoh recognised it as well, it was the one where the family had gotten killed and the little girl got taken but was leaving pieces of gum behind like Hansel and Gretel (Season Six Episode 5: Gum Drops).

"It's an old show, but it's interesting, up until this character," He gestures at Grissom. "Left anyways."

"What is this show, master?" Yoh asked, already knowing the answer but playing the slave.

"It's called CSI, it's from the 21st century and it's about a team of crime investigators in Las Vegas, do you know where that was?" Yoh shook his head, but he knew that Las Vegas had been a city in America, but that people had abandoned it after the plague hit and never went back. It was in the middle of the desert anyways, and no one was looking for the kind of entertainment it offered for a long time after the epidemic.

So Socrates liked classical music, and old TV shows? Who was this man, and why did Yoh get the feeling that he should know who he is somehow?

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Wolf: Review plz!


	7. Chapter 7

Wolf: I own nothing!

_It's been a week and I have to say that I'm actually starting to relax here. Socrates has shown no signs of sadism or anything other than being a particularly lenient owner. He works most days, and if he doesn't go out for the day he holes himself up in his office with the door locked. Every morning I'd get a list of chores to do and then when I was done I was allowed to do whatever. _

_I mostly watched TV, or played with the gaming consoles, but that got a bit boring after awhile. I wanted something stimulating to do, but with hybrids being considered stupid, I wasn't going to get that any time soon. There were a couple of rooms yet in the penthouse that I hadn't gone in yet, and I decided not to push my luck by exploring. I wouldn't say that I wasn't curious though..._

"Yoh, today I want you to dust and do the floors." Socrates said, coming into Yoh's room as he was getting dressed for the day. Was it just him or did his eyes, or where his eyes should be, linger on his exposed behind for a moment? Yoh shook the ridiculous notion out of his head and turned to face Socrates completely.

"How do you want me to do the floors, master?" He asked.

"Just sweep and then wash them. Supplies are in the cupboard." Socrates replied. "All the rooms, please. The last door in the hallway leads to outside though, so you don't need to worry about that room."

"Yes, master." Yoh said, bowing his head respectfully. "Is there anything else today?" Socrates shook his head. "Thank you, master." Socrates' lips twitched upward slightly and then he left the room. Yoh pulled on his shirt and heard the front door close.

He lazily ate a hearty breakfast and then got to work with the dusting. He was sure to pick up everything, dusting it and under it, dusting every flat surface in each room. Socrates could be quite fastidious, even if he was disorganized, and Yoh didn't want to risk his displeasure if the job wasn't done well enough.

The one room he hadn't been in before had exercise equipment set up in it, and another was full of artefacts from almost every era of human history, and even some from prehistory. He wasn't surprised that Socrates had these, he'd proven to be quite the history buff in the last several days. The last room though, held something that really intrigued him.

Books, shelves and shelves of books stretched from one end of the room to the other. A comfy-looking biogel chair, which was like a beanbag chair but jelly and oodles more comfortable, sat in one corner, but the rest of the room was taken up by books, books, and more books.

Yoh stared in awe. Since the banning of paper as a commercial product, books, at least in the traditional sense, had no longer been made. E-books had taken over, after a short-lived attempt at plastic books that had never taken off. There was something about a real book, the feel, the smell, that could never be replaced.

Yoh gulped, taking a hesitant step forward. He knew that the books would have been treated with a sealing solution that would keep them from decaying and falling apart, but he still felt as though he were intruding on something almost sacred. He'd never seen anyone with this many books, they must have cost a fortune!

He edged hesitantly over to the nearest shelf and reached out to touch one of the books, flinching back as soon as he did. No alarms went off, nothing happened, as he half-expected it to and so he ran his hand along the mismatched spines. "Ghandi, Stephen King, J. R. R. Tolkien, Homer, Shakespeare." Yoh murmured the names of the authors as he ran his hand reverently over the books. How he missed reading.

He looked around guiltily after a couple minutes, realizing that he was supposed to be working. He dusted the shelves, unable to keep from searching the books for his personal favourites. He finally finished with the dusting and got started with sweeping and mopping the floors. Each time he went into the library he found himself just standing there for longer and longer periods of time.

When he was finally done with his chores he went back again, standing in front of the rows and rows of books, fraught with indecision. He wanted to read, he wanted to be intellectually stimulated! The few times he'd managed to steal a book though he'd been found out and whipped though, and he had no desire to repeat the experience, especially if it meant the end of Socrates' leniency.

He went back and forth with himself for a long time, but he finally decided; he needed to read or he would go mental stuck here with nothing interesting to do. He went into the middle of the shelves and chose a book, The Book of Negroes, making certain to make it appear as though nothing was missing. Yoh noticed that Socrates' disorganization had struck here too, there was no order to the way the books were arranged at all.

It was getting close to dinner, so Yoh simply smuggled the book into his room and hid it under his bed mattress, hoping that Socrates wouldn't notice the missing novel. He then got started on dinner, attempting to calm his racing heart.

He was in the middle of cooking when Socrates walked in the door. "Good evening, master." He said, making certain his voice didn't tremble with nerves.

"Good evening, Yoh." Socrates said in a calm tone. He ran his fingers over top of the fridge and inspected it. "I see that once again my faith in your abilities has been rewarded. Thank you."

"Just following orders, master." Yoh replied.

"Of course." Socrates replied evenly. "The point though, is you follow them well, and I believe that deserves praise."

Yoh didn't know what to say to this. He and Socrates ate together as usual, watching another rerun of CSI as had become their habit. It wasn't until Yoh was sure that Socrates was in bed that he took the book out from under the mattress. He opened it and inhaled sharply, taking in the scent of the paper and the slightly sweet scent of the preserving seal upon the pages. He read long into the night.

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Yoh was finishing up with the dishes of dinner when Socrates stormed up to him. "What's this?" He demanded, holding up Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Yoh's eyes widened. For the first time in weeks he'd forgotten to hide the book he was reading. And it had been going so well too, he groused to himself. "Were you planning on trying and selling this illegally?"

"No!" Yoh yelped, horrified by the thought. Socrates stared at him, waiting for an answer. "I... I was reading it." He finally admitted, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"You can read?" Socrates asked in a quieter tone. Yoh nodded his head. "Prove it." He demanded, handing Yoh the book. Yoh turned off the stove and randomly began to read from one of the passages of the book. "Okay, you've convinced me. Can you write as well?" Yoh bit his lip, but then nodded again, what was the point of lying now? "Hmm, interesting."

"Forgive me master, but I enjoy reading and you have a wonderful collection..." He trailed off as Socrates held up a hand.

"Where did you learn to read?"

"One of the other slaves who took care of me when I was young taught me." Yoh lied. Socrates nodded his head. Yoh's ears drooped as he thought about the fact that the library would now be locked to him from now on. To his surprise Socrates smiled.

"Well, you seem to have good taste in your choice of literature." He commented, pressing the book into Yoh's hands. "And you seem to take care of them fairly well in addition to that."

"I don't understand." Yoh said bluntly. Socrates' smile widened a bit into almost a smirk.

"I'm saying that you have my permission to pursue your love of reading, if that is what you choose." He said. Yoh just stared at him, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"You're... you're giving me permission to read? Are you some kind of crazy person?" He blurted out accidently. He clamped his hand over his mouth, but Socrates merely let out an amused chuckle.

"I have been called mad before, yes." He smiled again. "I think you can assume that you can speak more freely around me now." Yoh's mind worked furiously. He was being given permission to speak as an equal.

"You've never had a slave before, have you?" He guessed. It seemed logical that someone who had not grown up with slaves had not the conditioning that hybrids were good for nothing but slavery.

"Actually, when I was young I had my own slave, she was more of a mother to me than my own parents." Socrates explained. "Sometimes busy, or lazy parents will simply allow a nanny to take care of their child. Mana was very dear to me."

"Oh." That would explain his attitude towards him. If he'd cared about his nanny, it made sense that he would not view hybrids the same way as others would. "May I speak frankly?" Socrates nodded. "I think you're a very odd man." Socrates' smile grew to Cheshire cat-like proportions.

"So do I."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	8. Chapter 8

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh sat in his book, reading yet another book. He was thankful for the fact that Socrates didn't mind him reading, but Socrates' assertion that he could speak freely still made him nervous. Socrates seemed to sense this and didn't press him when he'd make 'obedient slave' answers to questions.

"It's kind of dull in here." Yoh jumped at the voice, letting out an involuntary hiss.

"You're home early master." He said, turning to face Socrates.

"Meetings went shorter than I was expecting." Socrates sighed. "Why don't you change the colours of this room?"

"I was unaware that I had that option, master." Yoh replied carefully. Socrates chuckled.

"I forgot, you've never had a room of your own like this." He said. He walked over to a panel by the door and tapped it. A small screen appeared on the wall and Socrates gestured Yoh over. Yoh went over and Socrates pulled him closer so that he could see what he was doing with the screen. "See you can change the scheme of the room." He said, pressing a button to display the options.

Socrates pressed one of the options and immediately the walls turned a garish neon green. Yoh winced at the colour and Socrates grinned. "Well, certainly not that colour. If you had a data pad and talent for art you could input the art from your pad as a pattern and have it for your walls." Yoh nodded, only half-listening. Socrates smelled of cinnamon-smoke to his far more sensitive nose.

It was a good scent, one that made him want to rub his nose in it and take a deep inhale. Yoh stiffened at the train of his thoughts. It was almost time for his rut, when his sexual desires peaked. Joy. Of course the fact that he was reacting in such a way to Socrates meant he already viewed him as potentially attractive as a mate. Once again, joy.

"Master, I should warn you that my rut is coming up." Yoh said hesitantly.

"Is it?" Socrates thought for a moment. "Yes, it is the right time of the year, isn't it?"

"If I do anything odd in the next few days…"

"It doesn't affect you too badly, does it?" Socrates asked, sounding concerned. Sometimes the mixed genetics created a rut or heat that was nearly unbearable to ignore and made a hybrid into a mindless sex machine. Yoh fortunately was not one of those.

"No master, it doesn't." He answered.

"I'll be sure to keep it in mind then." Socrates said. "Do you understand how to use the computer?" Yoh nodded his head. "I'll leave you to it then."

Yoh played around with the wall colours for a little while before deciding on a dark cream colour for the walls. After some consideration he programmed the ceiling to look like what the outside sky was doing. He watched the fluffy white clouds for a couple minutes before deciding to go and start on dinner.

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Yoh was glad when the week was over and his rut done. He managed not to do anything embarrassing, but there were a few close calls. He was definitely attracted at least a little bit to Socrates. It wasn't hard to see why; Socrates had been kinder to him than anyone else had ever been.

"I have something for you, Yoh." Socrates said to him one day. He pulled out a data pad and handed it to Yoh. Yoh blinked, staring at it.

"Why?" He finally asked.

"With this I can send you your duties for the day without having to wake you up at the crack of dawn. I can let you know if I'm going to be late, and you can let me know if there's anything I should pick up on the way home. It just makes things a little easier for the both of us." Socrates explained. "Plus the games, the internet, etc. will keep you from getting bored as I know that can be a problem for you."

"Why are you doing all these things for me?" Yoh asked, the question he'd been dying to ask now for days. Socrates stared at him for a long moment and Yoh wished once again that he could see the man's eyes.

"Perhaps I should explain what I do for a living." Socrates said. He gestured for Yoh to go sit down in the couch area. "My primary job is an environmental officer. I make sure corporations, mining facilities, factories and other places are not in violation of environmental laws in place and I help them keep their facilities up to code."

"I understand." Yoh said, still puzzled.

"My, I guess you could call it a side job, is as an advocate for the freedom of hybrids, such as yourself." Yoh stared at him. "Do you remember the phone call a few weeks back?" Yoh nodded. "It was for a meeting with the global council."

The global council was basically in charge of the whole earth. It composed of a mix of humans and Felids and they decided on the universal laws by which all citizens of the earth lived. There were still what were considered countries that were run by leaders who had some say in the laws, but the ultimate authority was the council.

"I have been trying for years to get them to change the laws around hybrids, but I keep coming up against the same arguments." Socrates sounded annoyed. "The biggest argument, especially from the Felids, is that hybrids are stupid and so they cannot perform useful functions in society except as slaves, which of course we both know is false."

"Yeah." Yoh muttered.

"I'm not very popular with the politicians because of my views, which is why I use a pseudonym as opposed to my real name and make certain my face is not seen, otherwise I might wake up dead one day." Yoh smiled at the oxymoron.

"I understand."

"I may have a way of getting around those arguments now though." Socrates said thoughtfully.

"How?"

"You." Yoh stared at him uncomprehendingly. "You're intelligent, you can read and write, and I'm willing to bet you can do simple math as well. Showing you to the council would prove that hybrids are not stupid at all."

"Is this the real reason why you picked me up at that whorehouse? Have you been watching me?" Yoh asked suspiciously. Socrates shook his head.

"I only took you from that whorehouse because you looked so agitated, and I thought that if I could keep even just one from such a humiliating fate... It really wasn't until recently that I'd begun to think of the possibility of you helping me with the council."

"You really think they would buy it?" Yoh asked sceptically.

"Hmm, we could have them test you while I am out of the room, or have you take an IQ test that can't be tampered with." Socrates said. "I thought you'd jump at this chance, I mean how many times have you tried to gain your own freedom?"

"That's true, but I can't help but be a little bit sceptical, and a little bit worried that they might try to silence us to keep the truth from being heard." Yoh replied.

"I can guarantee both our safety when we're with them, and no one knows where I live, so they can't send assassins after us." Socrates explained. "I'm not going to put you in a situation where you're uncomfortable though." He continued. "You have a few months to think on it and decide whether or not you want to help me."

"Thank you, master."

"I would think after all of this you should understand that I do not view us as a master and slave, if anything you would be my employee, and you are allowed to call your boss by name." Socrates stated calmly.

"Okay, thank you Socrates." Yoh said, smiling slightly.

"That's much better." Socrates said, smiling himself. His face turned serious again quickly. "You have a curious nature, which is, in my mind, delightful, but I'm sure you've wondered what's beneath the mask I wear."

"I have wondered, I mean, you wear it all the time, so I kind of thought that perhaps you had an injury of some kind you wanted to hide." Yoh replied. He was thinking of the Phantom of the Opera, but also of his father, Mikihisa. He'd worn his mask to hide the burns acquired from Hao, and to hide his shame at having failed to stop Hao.

"That is one of the few secrets I have, and I must order that you under no circumstances, unless I give you my explicit permission, remove my mask or my hood. That is the most important order, and if you listen to nothing else, I would ask that you promise to listen to that one." Socrates' tone was very serious and only peaked Yoh's curiosity further, but he knew that he did not want to betray Socrates in that way.

"I promise."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	9. Chapter 9

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh played idly with his data pad, having discovered an online RPG that fascinated him. It was a bit like a Star Wars game in which you could go from planet to planet and be any number of alien creatures. It kept him from getting bored and allowed him to talk to people intelligently without them knowing he was a hybrid.

"I'm home." Yoh's ear flicked back at the sound of Socrates' voice, but he didn't look up. "Smells good in here." Yoh was using the slow cooker to make a stew and the smell had been permeating the penthouse for some time. "Geez this is heavy." Yoh looked around at that comment and saw Socrates carrying a full platter of several small yellow flowers.

"What's that for?" He asked in puzzlement. As far as he knew Socrates didn't have any other plants. Socrates stared at him for a second, lips twitching.

"Oh, you haven't opened the last door down the hallway yet, have you?" Yoh shrugged.

"I was never told I was allowed out there." He replied.

"Come with me." Socrates said, lifting the platter higher and walking towards the hallway. Yoh signed out of his game and ambled after Socrates. Socrates opened the back door and Yoh gasped as he stepped into a lush outdoor rooftop garden. The colours and smells of the flowers were nearly overwhelming and he sat down, ears and nose twitching.

"I'm sorry, did I overload your senses?" Socrates asked worriedly. It seemed he understood the enhanced nature of Yoh's senses, not only could he smell better than a human, but his eyes could see more wavelengths than a human could, so colours were often brighter for him.

"No, I'm okay, I just wasn't expecting this." Yoh replied. "It's beautiful."

"My little piece of paradise." Socrates said fondly. "Tending my garden has kept me sane for some years now." He set the platter down and went to the small shed that was in the corner of the garden. Yoh looked around, tracing the cobblestone paths through the garden and listening to the burble of the small pond complete with its own little waterfall in the center. "Would you like to help me?" Socrates asked, coming back with a basket of gardening tools.

"Sure." Yoh replied. Socrates led him to a patch of empty soil close to the pond. The two of them sat quietly side by side and transferred the little flowers into the soil.

"Could you pass me the cloth that's in the basket, Yoh?" Socrates asked. Yoh, in the middle of transferring a flower, reached into the basket with his tail and grabbed the cloth, handing it to Socrates. Socrates touched his tail, bringing Yoh's attention to him. "May I?" Yoh nodded his head and Socrates gently took hold of Yoh's tail.

He softly stroked the short, coarse fur and squeezed lightly, likely feeling the muscles beneath the skin. Yoh curled the tip of his tail around Socrates' hand, letting him feel the strength in it. "It's like having an extra hand, isn't it?" Socrates commented.

"Not quite, it's not nearly as dexterous, but it works." Yoh replied. Socrates stroked his tail for a moment more before reaching out towards his head.

"May I?" He asked again. Yoh nodded and Socrates touched the tip of one of his large ears, making it twitch. Socrates slid his fingers down his ear, making it twitch spasmodically from the light, tickling touches. Socrates then dug his fingers into Yoh's coarse hair, scratching at the base of his ear. Yoh let out a startled yelp and then began to purr. "You really are a lot like a cat in some ways." Socrates commented as Yoh leaned into the scratching fingers, closing his eyes.

He'd never allowed anyone else to do this willingly, his ears were incredibly sensitive and therefore not something he liked having touched if he thought that there was any chance they would get pulled. He trusted Socrates though, trusted him not to hurt him like others had done. Not only that, but Yoh was coming to realize that he actually felt safe around Socrates.

He hadn't felt safe, well, ever, in this life, and now he found himself relaxing completely in the presence of a human, something he believed he'd never be able to do again. His sleep patterns had changed in the couple months since he'd been rescued from the whorehouse; he was now able to fall asleep immediately and sleep through the night without waking up at the slightest unfamiliar noise.

Socrates seemed to benefit from their arrangement as well, not only because of Yoh's cooking, but he seemed happy that he had someone to talk to when he got home. Yoh had gotten used to Socrates asking his opinion on things and even became so bold as to ask him how his day was. On occasion he'd had to listen to Socrates' rants about 'stupid companies who think they can bribe me into ignoring the waste water being dumped into rivers' and other such things.

Yoh frowned slightly; didn't Socrates have friends he could talk to about that sort of thing? "What's wrong Yoh?" Socrates asked, pulling his hand away.

"Just thinking about something." Yoh said. He bit his lip and decided to ask the question on his mind, after all, Socrates had said that he enjoyed his curiosity. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but do you have any friends?"

Socrates stared at him, and Yoh wished he could what his eyes were saying. "No, not really. I have a couple acquaintances at my office, but no one that I would consider a friend."

"Why not?"

"I guess I've just always felt out of place; I'm not really one for social gatherings, and bearing my soul to another person scares me a little bit." Socrates admitted. "There's a lot of darkness in my past that I don't feel comfortable talking about with just anyone, and in a friendship, the past is inevitably going to come up, and I'd rather not lie if I don't have to."

"I see." Yoh said. He and Socrates worked in silence for a couple minutes.

"There is one person that I might consider a friend." Socrates suddenly mused.

"Oh?"

"Yes... you." Yoh looked up and stared at Socrates in shock. The man's lips were curled up in a small smile.

"Me?" Yoh squeaked out.

"Yes." Socrates said, seeming unconcerned by Yoh's shock. "You listen to my ramblings, you share your own opinions even when they differ from mine and well... it just makes me happy that after a frustrating day of work, I have you to come home to."

Yoh was speechless, couldn't think of anything to say to him. "I'm... flattered you think of me that way." He finally managed to stammer out. Socrates' lips twitched downwards for a second, but settled back into a smile again. Yoh wondered at it, but put it out of his mind, finishing up with the flowers.

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you're welcome to come out here any time you like." Socrates said as Yoh stood up.

"Thank you, Socrates." Yoh said, bowing his head and folding his ears back, before walking back inside. Once inside he allowed his ears to droop and the feeling of guilt that had been building in his chest washed over him. He didn't want to betray Socrates' trust in him, but how else was he going to get to Amidamaru and the Shaman King tournament.

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"Yoh, would you like to run some errands for me?" Yoh's ears perked up and he looked around at Socrates.

"Errands?" Yoh repeated. Socrates nodded. His mind churned with the possibilities. "Sure."

"Okay, I'll have to put the collar on you though." Socrates reminded him. Yoh nodded and willingly put on the collar. Socrates told him what he needed to get and where he could get it, gave him some credits and then gestured him out the door. Yoh tried not to look too eager as he left, but he was nearly shaking with nerves on the elevator ride down.

He walked along the streets, coming up on the shop that Socrates had told him about... and walked right past it. He felt bad about doing this, but he doubted even Socrates would understand what he needed to do, probably would think he was crazy. He wished he could have left a note or something, but it was too late for that.

Everything was going fine, and he wasn't getting any odd stares at all. He thought this time he would actually be able to get to Amidamaru, when a hand grabbed his collar from the back and dragged him backwards, making him gag.

He turned his head and his ears and tail wilted at the sight of Socrates standing there, his lips turned down in a scowl. The pure anger radiating off him dwarfed the anger from when Yoh had first tried to escape. He knew it would do him no good to fight, so he meekly allowed himself to be dragged back to the penthouse.

"I can't believe you!" Socrates shouted when they got home, all but throwing him to the ground. "So what, you gain my trust and then use that to make your escape?" Yoh flinched at the betrayed note in Socrates' voice, his ears drooping further.

"No that's not-" Socrates held up a hand.

"I don't want to hear your excuses." He snarled. "Just... I don't know, do something, but stay away from me!" With that he stalked off, leaving Yoh to his own thoughts. Soon loud music, Beethoven wove through the penthouse. Yoh sat up, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his face there.

He'd hurt Socrates, and now the man believed that Yoh wasn't genuine towards him, which was not true. Yoh liked Socrates, liked being around him and liked the way he made him feel. But in one moment, with one stupid act he'd destroyed that relationship. Maybe Socrates would understand, he was a smart man after all, why did he have to take the underhanded route first?

Yoh sat there for a couple minutes, feeling sorry for himself, but then got up, determined to make things right. He tracked Socrates down in his office and found the man just staring down at his data pad, one hand on his head. He looked forlorn. Yoh swallowed thickly and opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry." Socrates didn't even look at him, but he sighed.

"I don't know if I can believe that Yoh." He said softly.

"I know." Yoh said miserably. "I was stupid. I'm just... I'm so used to having to sneak, that I didn't think, I didn't think that you'd understand why I had to go, that there's something I need to do." Silence reigned for a couple minutes.

"Do you really think you could get by on your own?" Socrates asked in a dull tone.

"So long as I got to a certain place first, yes." Yoh replied slowly.

"Do you want me to take you there?" Socrates asked. "If you want your freedom so badly, I'll let you have it." A part of Yoh urged him to take Socrates up on the offer, but another part recoiled from the idea. He didn't want to leave Socrates, not really. He didn't want to leave the man he'd grown to care about and trust, that he'd grown... The breath caught in his throat as he fully understood the emotion he was feeling.

"No, I don't want to leave you." Socrates lifted his head at that and turned his chair to stare at Yoh. Yoh gulped and took the chance, walking up to Socrates and sliding into his lap. Socrates stared at him, lips parted slightly. Yoh leaned forward a little and pressed their lips together softly. Tentative hands reached around his middle, holding him in place as Socrates returned the kiss.

"I love you." Yoh whispered as he pulled away. Socrates sighed softly in answer.

"I hadn't even dared to hope..." He murmured, half to himself. "Do you trust me, Yoh?"

"Of course." Yoh said, puzzled by the question. "You can't have love without trust." Socrates' lips curled up in a faint smile.

"Then, I give you permission to take off my hood and mask." He said. "I think it's time."

Yoh nodded his head and lifted his hands to the hem of Socrates' hood. He hesitated, but Socrates smiled and nodded. He pulled the hood down, revealing long hair of a dark mahogany. He stroked his fingers through the soft locks gently, enjoying the texture for a moment.

He then turned his attention to the silver mask and timidly ran his fingers over the cool metal. He hooked his fingers under it and slowly drew it up and away from Socrates' face. A small, straight, aristocratic nose was revealed to him first. Then Yoh looked into dark, solemn, all too familiar black eyes. He gasped and pushed himself out of the chair, backing up until he hit the wall.

"Hao."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	10. Chapter 10

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh hissed as Hao got up, walking towards him with his hands out. He looked so similar to how he had when Yoh had known him in his first life. He could see some differences, in the reddish tint to his dark brown hair, the higher cheekbones and fullness of his lips, but it was still unavoidably Hao. He had been tricked, and now he just felt angry.

"Stay away from me." He ordered furiously. Hao halted in his tracks.

"Yoh..." Hao said softly, shaking his head. "Please..."

"Don't please me." Yoh snapped. "You said that I was using you, when it was you using me all along, making me believe that you cared about me, and making me..." He trailed off, tears gathering in his eyes. "I can't believe you!" he cried, voice rising as he grew more and more upset. "No, actually I can, this is exactly the kind of thing-"

Yoh had barely any time to register the fact that Hao was moving until his back was pressed against the wall, his wrists in Hao's grip, and warm lips pressed gently over his own. He froze in shock for a moment, but the gentleness of Hao's soft lips against his own made him relax and close his eyes. He could actually feel the affection in the kiss as the world seemed to stop for that long moment.

When Hao finally pulled away Yoh could do nothing but stare up at him as he tried to catch his breath. "Will you let me explain?" Hao asked in a gentle voice. Yoh nodded dazedly and allowed himself to be led back to the chair. Hao sat down and pulled Yoh down into his lap. Yoh regained some of his senses and folded his arms, glaring slightly at Hao.

"I haven't lied to you, Yoh." Yoh snorted derisively. "The only lies I am guilty of are those of omission. All the things I've told you about my life are true, as are my feelings for you."

"Why?" Yoh demanded. "Why are you doing this?" Hao shifted slightly underneath him, his face thoughtful.

"It goes back to the end of my third life, do you remember what you did while I lay dying?" Yoh nodded his head; how could he forget? "You surprised me, Yoh. Of all the things I'd expected, I never thought that you'd care enough about me to cry for me. It got me to start thinking, it got me to start asking why. Five hundred years is a long time to think, and I had some of your memories that I'd managed to absorb to help me think. I saw that you were bullied as a child, but I couldn't understand why you didn't hate them as I did. I decided in this life to see if there was something that you saw that I couldn't."

"And?"

"I'm part of a secret coalition of humans who help hybrids in need, either finding those owners who are the most abusive and buying off their slaves or taking in slaves that have run away." Hao explained, a faint smile working its way across his face. "I am the one they appointed to put pressure on the government, seeing as they viewed me as the most political. They're as passionate as I am about getting equal rights for hybrids, and they're quite interesting to work with. The only reason I'm not close friends with a lot of them is my discomfort with close relationships."

"What about me?" Yoh asked curiously.

"I confess that my main goal in this life has been finding you. I had to know why, and the only person that could give the answers was you. I searched with the Asakuras first, their family being the most obvious, but that gave me no results. I'd almost given up hope when I'd gotten the feeling to step inside that whorehouse."

"Why didn't you tell me immediately who you were?" Yoh asked.

"I was scared." Hao admitted. "I knew that you probably didn't view me as an ally and it was obvious from your demeanour that you'd lost the easy trust you had in your first life. Honestly I hadn't meant for it to last this long. I just thought I'd give you time to get comfortable around me, and then reveal myself, but it was always 'just a little while longer, he's still holding out on me', and then I started to fall for you and saw that you were possibly falling for me, and was so scared of losing that connection... I should have told you sooner, and I'm sorry, but my feelings towards you are still true, even as Hao. Do you believe me?"

Yoh thought about the kiss, and about the hurt in Socrates', no, Hao's voice after he'd tried to run away. Slowly he nodded his head. Hao let out a relieved sigh and relaxed back into the chair. "I guess the other question is, do you still have those feelings for me?" Yoh bit his lip as he thought about it. He found himself staring into Hao's dark, worried eyes and he had his answer.

"You said yourself that you are no different now as Hao than you were as Socrates." He said slowly. "I'm not attracted to the name, I'm attracted to the man, and the kindness he has shown me." Hao smiled softly at his words and cupped the back of Yoh's head, bringing him down for another kiss.

"Thank you, Yoh." Hao murmured against his lips. Yoh sighed and wrapped his arms around Hao's neck. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't still a little apprehensive about Hao, but his manner was so different from the Hao he'd known and feared from before. It was a little hard to be scared of him right now. He kind of chuckled to himself at a random thought. "What?" Hao asked.

"I was just thinking that this is kind of funny... I was actually attracted to you in my first life." Yoh admitted.

"Really?" Hao asked, looking mildly amused.

"That was before I found out you were my brother, but I was still attracted to you, as much as I tried to convince myself not to be." Yoh continued, blushing slightly.

"I was attracted to you as well." Hao admitted. "I guess I'm just narcissistic." He chuckled. Yoh felt his hand rub his back gently. "Did Anna know you were...?"

"Gay? Yeah, she did. She actually helped me out a lot." Yoh said. "She mellowed out quite nicely over the years. We had sex until Hana was conceived and then made an agreement that we were both allowed to have lovers on the side. We both cared deeply about each other, but neither of us found the other romantically attractive."

"I see." Hao said. "Are you sure you're alright with this Yoh? You're not just trying to make me feel better, because that would be very like you."

"No, I'm a little nervous, but like you're still Socrates, I just know the man behind the mask now." Yoh told him. "You're different, you don't seem like you're going to snap at any second anymore."

"Hmm, I feel a lot better in this life, saner, I think." Hao agreed. "I think it's because I'm not so hellbent on putting my plans in motion and not concentrating so much on hate anymore." He hesitated a moment. "So... will you tell me why you cried for me?"

"I didn't want it to come to that, but you know that already." Hao nodded. "I had wanted time to understand you, to understand what terrible things had happened to you to make you hate so much, I wanted to help you, but instead I was forced to strike you down, my own brother. I cared because I saw past the mask of cocky arrogance you showed everyone, I saw the loneliness in your eyes and the pain in your soul, and it hurt me to see that and not be able to help you."

"I see." Hao said softly. "You saw the man where everyone else saw the monster." Yoh nodded his head. Hao reached up and touched his face lightly with his fingertips. "You still look much the same."

"So do you." Yoh replied, leaning into the touch. "Your hair colour's a bit different, and your cheekbones are higher, but it's still definitely you."

"It's funny how it works that way." Hao commented with a laugh. "I've always looked pretty similar to my last lives. I guess if you consciously reincarnate yourself, your body starts to reflect you a little bit."

"Hmmm." Yoh replied. "Well, I can think of one good thing about this situation." He said with a grin.

"What's that?"

"I don't have to worry about how I'm getting the Shaman King tournament anymore." Hao blinked and then began to chuckle softly.

"I thought that was why you were trying to escape." He told Yoh. "I'm also guessing that you were trying to get to Amidamaru the last couple of times."

"Yeah, I just hope he's still waiting for me."

"Oh, he's still there." Hao revealed. Yoh gave him a questioning look. "One of the first places I checked to see if you had in fact reincarnated was the cemetery. I figured if you weren't going to be coming back Amidamaru would have just gone on to the afterlife."

"Yeah." Yoh agreed.

"I've gone back a few times to see if he was still there." Hao said. "Last time was six months ago and he was still waiting."

"Did you ever talk to him?"

"No, I figured he wouldn't be too happy to see me, even if I did try and explain myself." Hao said with a faintly sad smile.

"Will you take me to him?" Yoh asked, giving Hao a pleading look. To his relief Hao smiled.

"Of course."

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>Wolf: Review plz!<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh exhaled nervously as he stepped out of the hover car onto the grass of the Funbari Hill cemetery. He wasn't nervous about seeing Amidamaru, he was nervous about explaining his new relationship with Hao; he wasn't sure how the samurai spirit would react to that. A hand touched his shoulder, rubbing it gently, soothingly.

"Are you okay?" Hao asked. Yoh looked back at him. He was wearing his hood and his mask once again.

"I'm just not sure how Amidamaru's going to react to you." Yoh admitted.

"Maybe you can go up there alone, and kind of ease him into it. Explain where you've been and how you got here first." Hao suggested. "I can say hello first and then reveal who I really am after he sees that I mean you no harm."

"You think that will work?" Yoh asked worriedly. Hao only shrugged his shoulders. Yoh sighed again and then squared his shoulders, marching off towards the top of the hill, where he could see a lonely figure staring up at the stars.

As he walked the murmurs started from the spirits who recognized him. He spared a couple minutes to talk to them, saying hello, but then continued on. Hao followed along behind him, his footfalls soft. Yoh walked quietly up behind the big samurai spirit, smiling softly.

"The stars are beautiful tonight." He commented. Amidamaru stiffened and then turned around slowly. His dark eyes widened at the sight of Yoh and he launched himself at his partner, flattening him in a tackle hug. Yoh laughed happily and hugged him back.

"You've come back!" Amidamaru said joyously, allowing Yoh to get back to his feet.

"Yeah, sorry it took so long, but I had some issues." Yoh said.

"Considering the fact that you're a hybrid, I can imagine." Amidamaru said seriously. "Are you on the run?"

"No, it's an interesting story actually." He beckoned Hao forward. Hao moved into the moonlight, still wearing his mask and cloak. "He rescued me from a whorehouse."

"Well then, can you tell him thank you?"

"I can hear it from you myself." Amidamaru frowned at the sound of Hao's voice.

"Amidamaru, I want you to promise me you won't freak out about what happens next." Yoh said. Amidamaru gave him a sharp look.

"I trust you, Yoh. I won't freak out." He said calmly. Yoh nodded at Hao, who took off his cloak and then his mask. Amidamaru stiffened, his face twitching as various emotions flew across it before settling on a confused look. "I think you'd better explain, Yoh." He said slowly. Yoh nodded his head, relieved that Amidamaru had not freaked out.

"I didn't know it was Hao when I was first bought, he wore the mask all the time and referred to himself as 'Socrates'." Yoh explained.

"Why?" Amidamaru asked. Hao shifted slightly.

"I've worn the mask because I'm not very popular with the council thanks to my views on hybrids. I've been advocating for the abolishment of slavery for a few years and if they knew what I looked like and my real name, I would be a target." Hao sighed. "The reason why I did not immediately reveal myself to Yoh was because I was afraid of his reaction to me. I wanted to try and earn his trust before I told him who I was." Amidamaru looked at Yoh questioningly.

"Obviously he earned my trust as Socrates, though it took awhile, and it was actually earlier today that he finally told me who he really is." Yoh told him.

"He was understandably angry, hurt and confused =, especially seeing as…" Hao trailed off, looking at Yoh. Yoh nodded at him to go on. "Since he'd just declared his love for me." Amidamaru raised an eyebrow. Yoh and Hao took turns completely retelling the conversation after the fact and when they were done the samurai looked thoughtful.

"So you two are going to continue being together?" he asked after some time. Yoh nodded his head. "it's certainly not how we envisioned things turning out, but I trust your judgment, Yoh."

"Thanks Amidamaru." Yoh sighed in relief. "Is Harusame still buried under the grave marker?"

"Yes, no one tampered with the graves, thank goodness." Amidamaru replied.

"I'll get the shovels." Yoh said cheerfully. Hao grabbed him around the waist to stop him.

"No need, you have me." He told Yoh. He placed his hand on the ground and the earth moved beneath his hand, revealing Harusame and Amidamaru's old memorial tablet a few feet below the ground. Yoh grabbed them and Hao moved the earth back over the grave. "Shall we go home?"

Amidamaru followed them to the car and went into the tablet for the ride. Yoh stroked the faintly glowing letters of the tablet, happily humming to himself. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hao smile indulgently at him and he slid his tail over to poke Hao in the side. Hao grabbed his tail, softly stroking the fur at the tip.

Yoh was yawning quite widely by the time they got back to the penthouse. Hao kissed him lightly on the forehead. "Go to sleep." He said gently. "I love you."

"I love you too." Yoh murmured, touching his lips briefly against Hao's. Hao sighed happily and wandered off towards his bedroom.

"He seems almost… tentative." Amidamaru observed.

"I think he's worried about doing something that'll push me away from him." Yoh said. "I don't think he can still quite believe that I'm alright with him."

"Hmm, so he's nervous about doing something to make you believe he wasn't truthful." Yoh nodded his head and walked to his bedroom. Amidamaru admired the programmed ceiling wheeling with stars and the moon. "I'm always amazed at what human beings can do with a few centuries of technology." He mused.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool, isn't it?" Yoh grinned. He yawned and took off his shirt. He heard Amidamaru gasp and turned to see him staring at him, wide-eyed.

"Where did you get those?" He demanded, reaching out to touch one of the various scars marring his back.

"I was beaten for trying to escape." Yoh replied.

"By Hao?" Amidamaru growled.

"No, these were way before Hao." Yoh assured him. "The oldest is three or four years old."

"Oh, I'm sorry Yoh." Amidmaru whispered. "I should have been there to help you."

"How could you have been?" Yoh asked. "You didn't know where I was going to be born, I didn't know, so it made sense that you stayed with your grave and I'd find you. I managed to get born into the right family, just the wrong species."

"Very wrong species." Amidamaru agreed. "I guess it makes sense that Hao would be an advocate for the hybrids, I'm just surprised that he's being so… diplomatic about it."

"He's trying, and I like that. He obviously gets frustrated, I've listened to him rant about the companies he has to deal with as an environmental consultant, but in that time he's shown no inclination towards violence." Yoh replied. "In a couple months he wants to take me up in front of the council, to prove that hybrids are just as smart as humans or Felids."

"You're going up against the government?" Amidamaru asked.

"Yeah, kind of scary, huh?"

"Not as scary as going up against Hao in your first life." Amidamaru reminded him. Yoh nodded and shivered slightly at the memory of that terrifying day.

"I'm hopeful that I won't have to deal with anything like that in this life." Yoh said. "I'm not completely going to trust that he won't snap again, but for now… he's different, and I like the difference, a lot, as you can obviously tell."

"Yes, I can." Amidamaru chuckled. "And I'm pleased that you seem to have found someone you can have a romantic relationship with."

"How do you think the rest of them are going to react?" Yoh asked worriedly.

"I'm sure they'll be startled, but they know that they can trust you, so I think it will turn out alright." Amidamaru replied thoughtfully. Yoh smiled and they talked into the wee hours of the morning about Yoh's experiences in this life.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	12. Chapter 12

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh woke up and stretched, yawning widely as he did so. He inhaled deeply and his eyes popped open at the smell of frying bacon. He sat up and looked at the clock that had been put on his dresser when Hao 'discovered' he could tell time, and saw that it was much later than he normally woke up.

"Good morning Yoh." Amidamaru greeted him. Yoh grinned happily at the sight of him.

"Good morning Amidamaru, it's nice to have you here when I wake up again." He sighed. He got up, pulling on a pair of pants and a t-shirt. He padded into the kitchen and stared at Hao working at the stove. Hao laughed at his look.

"Just because I didn't cook for myself, doesn't mean that I can't." He said calmly. "I simply never had the time or the energy for it."

"Shouldn't you be working though?" Yoh asked.

"Called in, said I was sick. I've got quite a few sick days and vacation days piled up." Hao answered. "I'll be back at work tomorrow, but I thought I could use a break today, I may not look it, but I'm still a little shaken by yesterday's events, as I'm sure you are as well."

"A little bit." Yoh admitted. Hao smiled and held out a plate of bacon, eggs and toast to him. Yoh walked over to the couch area and sat down. Hao joined him a moment later, sitting down beside him. They ate quietly, but the silence was not awkward, but peaceful.

"I'm assuming you weren't the only one to be reincarnated." Hao said after a time. Yoh shook his head, swallowing his bite of eggs before speaking.

"It was me, Anna, Ren, Horohoro, Ryu and Lyserg." He said.

"Not Faust?" Hao asked with some surprise. Yoh shook his head.

"He wanted to be happy together with his wife." Yoh said. "He didn't want to deal with one of them being dead and the other living again."

"Hm, that does make sense." Hao said. "I have a feeling Lyserg will give me trouble, but what of the others?"

"I think they should be okay with it, once I explain exactly what happened." Yoh said carefully. "They know they can trust me, so they'll take that into account. Lyserg never got over his hatred, I'm afraid, even after your death."

"I think if he'd felt closure he wouldn't have wanted to reincarnate." Amidamaru offered. "I'm not certain why you're worried, Hao. You have more than enough power to deal with them."

"Yes, I do, but I don't want Yoh hurt because of all this." Hao answered. Yoh smiled and snuggled against him, wrapping his prehensile tail around one of Hao's legs.

"That's sweet." He said, kissing Hao's cheek. "I think the only one I'll have trouble with is Lyserg though, and the X-Laws, if they reincarnated."

"Oh, they did." Yoh stared at Hao, who smiled.

"How do you know that?"

"Do you remember the phone call from the council?" Yoh nodded. "What was the councilman's name?" Yoh thought for a moment and his eyes went wide.

"No way!" He yelped. "He's on the council?"

"Yup, and one of the fiercest opponents to releasing the hybrids from slavery."

"That doesn't surprise me much." Yoh growled. "He always seemed like a bigot."

"Uh huh, and where he is, you can bet the little girl can't be far behind." Hao said. "Makes me glad I wear my mask all the time. As much power as I have it would get tiring dodging death blows all the time."

"The only reason I wasn't on their hit list in my first life was because I killed you." Yoh said, rolling his eyes. "Do you think that could be a problem when we go up in front of the council?"

"Hmm, I don't think so. You look like you, but you look different enough that he would be confused. And you're a good enough actor that if he tries to see if it really is you that you can act like you've never seen him before." Hao replied.

"Yeah, that'll probably throw him off enough to stop asking." Yoh chuckled. "Does he suspect you at all?"

"I think he has some suspicions, but mostly I think he's just frustrated that I refuse to take off my mask." Hao replied. "The only time he should become a real problem for us is when the tournament starts up again in a few months."

"So soon?" Yoh asked.

"If my calculations are correct, which they still are." Yoh grinned at his tone and moved his tail to bat Hao lightly in the nose with it.

"You still have an ego the size of Japan, I see." Hao gave him a mock-glare and grabbed at Yoh's tail, pulling it playfully.

"It occurs to me that you could use this as a weapon." He said, waving Yoh's tailtip in the air. "Wrap it around someone's leg and trip them up."

"I could, but that would mean getting close and often times if they're trying to capture me that means I run the risk of being tranquilized or tazed." Yoh replied. Amidamaru winced. "It's happened before." Yoh said matter-of-factly.

"It seems your fate to have your hardships of life handed to you when you're young." Amidamaru said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, but if my last life is any indication, that means I'll have a good life once I leave adolescence." Yoh replied with a grin. He'd finished his breakfast by this point and moved to get up. He took Hao's plate as well and moved back into the kitchen. He began filling the sink with soapy water. He looked up as Hao came up beside him, rolling up the sleeves of his white button-up shirt.

"You wash, I'll dry?" He suggested with a smile. Yoh smiled in agreement and the two of them made quick work of the dishes.

"Now that that's done, what do we do now?" Yoh asked. "Unless you have chores for me?"

"It's your day off too." Hao told him. "Let's go out to the garden." Yoh followed Hao out, Amidamaru drifting along beside them both. Amidamaru let out an awed noise when he saw the garden.

"You made all this?" He asked Hao. Hao nodded.

"Yup, this place is my own little paradise." He said.

"What do you do when there's bad weather?" Amidamaru asked.

"If there's bad weather coming the computer system puts up a canopy around the garden, keeping it safe." Hao explained. Amidamaru shook his head in wonder at the things technology could do. Hao wandered over to the pond, sitting down in front of it, his legs splayed in front of him. Yoh went and sat down next to him.

Hao gave him a sidelong glance, eyeing him speculatively. Before Yoh could ask him what was up, he found an arm wrapped around his waist and Hao pulling him over so that he was deposited into Hao's lap. Arms wrapped loosely around his middle, letting Yoh know he could escape if he wanted to. He shifted slightly, settling into a more comfortable position and leaned his back against Hao's chest.

"You really are relaxed around me." Hao noted with some surprise, resting his chin on Yoh's shoulder. "I was expecting at least a hiss from you, if not a full on punch to the gut for trying."

"Why?" Yoh asked.

"Well, the suddenness of the grab, combined with the fact that I'm sure you're still not entirely certain about me, along with a lifetime of having to watch your back... are you really that at ease?"

"I've been more at ease with you than anyone else I've been with in this life." Yoh replied. "Once I got over my initial surprise and realized that you were just the same, it didn't make sense for me not to still trust you."

Hao shook his head wonderingly. "I'd say you're too trusting, but I know that you haven't been very trusting in this life, so it's very humbling to hear you say you trust me." He kissed Yoh's cheek lightly. "You're too good for me."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	13. Chapter 13

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh woke up with someone rubbing his back gently. He rolled over without opening his eyes and warm, soft lips descended over his. He sighed and opened his eyes, meeting Hao's. The love in those onyx orbs always gave him a little thrill of happiness, no matter how many times he got to see it.

"Good morning." He murmured, wrapping an arm around Hao's neck and nuzzling him gently.

"It is." Hao agreed. "Today's the day." Yoh blinked in confusion before realization dawned; it was the day they were going up against the council! Yoh swallowed slightly, feeling nervousness steal over him. Hao saw the nervousness and his smile turned into a frown of concern.

"Yoh," He said seriously, pulling Yoh up so they were sitting face to face. "If you're not comfortable doing this, I will not make you do it." Yoh frowned at him.

"I'm nervous, but I do want to do this. Why wouldn't I? I'm a hybrid, I don't like being a slave, and I know that between the two of us we can dodge any attempts to assassinate or otherwise silence us." He said. "I'm nervous because I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

"Whatever feels right to you." Hao replied. "I know you'll come up with something, you're good at diplomacy, if I remember correctly." Yoh blushed in pleasure at the compliment.

"Alright, let me get dressed and I'll make us some omelets." Yoh said.

"Mmm, that sounds like a plan." Hao said, stealing a quick kiss and sauntering out of the room. "Wear that really nice outfit we got tailored for you, we want to look as professional as possible." He called.

Yoh shook his head and got up, stretching as he yawned. He walked over to the closet and took out a dust bag, carefully unzipping it and pulling the clothes out. He pulled on a red silk button-up long sleeved shirt and a black pinstriped vest over top. He wore a pair of matching black pinstriped trousers. He looked down at himself, fussily adjusting the vest and the pants; he really did look good in this outfit.

Hao purred in approval when he came out. Yoh waved his tail teasingly at him and rolled up his sleeves, putting on a black apron to preserve his clothes as he made breakfast for them both. Amidamaru drifted in beside him and he smiled up at the protective samurai. Hao had been teaching the two of them some new techniques in their spare time.

Yoh's mind drifted as he worked on breakfast. A few short months ago he would have thought he was crazy if he'd said he was in love with Hao, but here he was. Hao was a lot more open with him now than he was at first and Yoh found that there was no longer any trace of nervousness when he was with Hao. The two of them had not gone beyond teasing touches and heated kisses, but with Yoh's rut once again upon them, there was no telling where things might go.

"Another uprising on a farm in the US." Hao called from the couch area. "You'd think the council would wake up and realize what this means."

"As you've said, they've got their heads in their asses, as politicians always have." Yoh said, quoting one of Hao's earlier rants. Hao smirked at him. Yoh smirked back and went back to making breakfast.

"You know I think the most interesting thing about today will be watching Marco go crazy trying to get you to admit who you really are." Hao said, laughing slightly.

"I think to really fuck with him I should use a pseudonym like you do." Yoh stated.

"That's a good idea, I like your thinking." Hao said. "Do you have anything in mind?" Yoh thought about it for a moment.

"Tubman." He replied. Hao's smile grew.

"For Harriet Tubman, I like it." He said approvingly. Yoh smiled and split the big omelette he'd made into two and plated them, bringing them over to the couch area. He and Hao snuggled close, lazily eating their omelets, stealing bits of each other's off their plates. Amidamaru watched the two of them with a smile on his face and occasional little dry remarks that would make Hao jokingly threaten to feed him to the Spirit of Fire.

Finally it was time to go. Hao pulled on his cloak and hood and fixed his mask upon his face. He was wearing a red silk shirt, same as Yoh and a pair of all black dress pants. "How do I look?" He asked.

"Dashing." Yoh replied, kissing him softly.

The car ride to the meeting-house was uneventful, Yoh slept through most of it of course. The meeting-house was on the top floor of a tall building in which all of the government offices were held. It was a pure white building and inside the floors were black marble with white walls and gold trimming. It was impressive, and somewhat intimidating, which it was supposed to be.

They were ushered into a room in which six individuals sat at a raised dais, looking down at the two of them with either expressionless faces, or barely masked scorn. Three of the council members were human and the other three Felids. One of the Felids was rather old, his whiskers drooping and the grey and black stripes of his fur streaked with white and his rheumy green eyes stared at Yoh with scorn. The other two were considerably younger, both female. One had brown fur with white leopard-like spots and crystalline blue eyes and the other had a tortoiseshell-like pattern to her fur, except in varying shades of grey and yellow eyes. They both looked at Yoh with curiosity.

One of the humans was an older man with steel-grey hair and hazel eyes. He sat like a general and had a stern air about him. The next human was a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and grey eyes. She had a sharp face and lips pursed like she'd been sucking on a lemon, and she watched him closely, as though she suspected him of being a terrorist or something. The last man was staring at Yoh with barely veiled anger. He had white-blond hair and pale blue eyes magnified by square glasses. It was definitely Marco, and Marco definitely recognised him.

"What is this slave doing here?" The elderly Felid hissed.

"Are you worried he might do something councilman Na-shad?" Hao asked.

"One of these days Socrates, your cheek is going to get you in trouble." Na-shad rumbled. The two females rolled their eyes at each other. Yoh thought that could be a good sign.

"Councilmen Na-shad, Marco and Gregory, councilwomen Iris, Ti-asha, and Ha-wesha, it is good to see you well and thank you for allowing me to come before you again." Hao said politely, bowing slightly.

"Like you'd leave us alone if we didn't." Gregory, the old man, grumbled softly. Hao inclined his head slightly towards him, a smirk forming on his face. Yoh just stood beside Hao, arms hanging loosely by his sides. He was looking for an opening, some way to prove that their view on hybrids was wrong.

"Your continued persistence is becoming something of an annoyance." Marco said. Yoh suppressed a shiver, hearing the danger in that voice. "After all this time you really believe you can sway our opinions?"

"I believe in being optimistic, even if it feels like I'm banging my head against the wall." Hao said. "I'm going to ask you again why exactly you believe that hybrids, intelligent, sentient beings, should be allowed to be treated as less than the animals we keep as pets."

"Hybrids aren't intelligent." Na-shad snorted. "They work because that is all they are good for, if we didn't keep them as slaves we would cull them because they are useless otherwise. I mean this slave here," He said, gesturing at Yoh. "Could never tell me what the square root of 144 is, or-"

"Twelve." Yoh's voice rang out almost unnaturally loudly in the room. All conversation stopped and every one of the council members stared at him.

"What did you say?" Gregory asked.

"This is preposterous." Na-shad cut in.

"No, I want to hear what he said." Gregory interrupted. "Repeat what you said, boy."

"I said 12, that's the square root of 144, simple math." Yoh said, his voice firmer than he felt. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hao smile just slightly, an encouragement. Gregory stared at him for a long moment, lips pursed.

"Alright, what's 5 multiplied by four, minus 8, divided by 3 and plus 10?" He asked. Yoh thought for a moment, doing the sums in his head, tailtip twitching slightly.

"Fourteen." He said after a moment.

"Ahh, now I'm interested." Gregory said, leaning back in his chair, his craggy face cracking into a faint smile. 'Game on' thought Yoh as he mentally geared up for the assault he was sure was coming.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	14. Chapter 14

Star: Yeah, so if you'll notice I've changed my name, same old craziness though. Information about the name change is on my profile and if you have any other questions for me, please feel free to message me about it. On with the story, and I own nothing!

"This is absolutely preposterous!" Na-shad roared angrily. "Obviously this boy has been coached and knows exactly-"

"What we would say?" Ti-asha interrupted. "Isn't that a little paranoid? How could anyone know that we would ask a math question in this meeting?"

"Yes," Ha-wesha purred. "I think we would like to know how much more this youngling understands."

"I can read, and I can write." Yoh replied, bowing his head respectfully to them. "I can do more complicated sums than what you asked me, but would need a calculator and somewhere to work out the problem visually. I understand most of what goes into politics and I enjoy a good book or a game of chess. I am not stupid, and neither are the rest of my kind."

"He has obviously been coached." Iris said angrily, her voice shrill enough to hurt Yoh's ears.

"It's easy enough to see if I'm bluffing." Yoh pointed out politely. "Just give me a book, or play a round of chess against me and you'll see if I'm lying or not."

"As it so happens, I have a book here with me that I've been reading." Gregory said. His stern face was a lot more animated now that he was interested; it made him a lot more likeable. "See if you can make anything of this." He said, holding out a slim book to Yoh. Yoh moved forward and took it.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream." Yoh said. "A classic. Is there any particular passage you would like me to read?"

"Choose what you will." Gregory replied. Yoh handled the book with utmost care and flipped to the end of the play.

"If we shadows have offended,  
>Think but this, and all is mended,<br>That you have but slumber'd here  
>While these visions did appear.<br>And this weak and idle theme,  
>No more yielding but a dream,<br>Gentles, do not reprehend:  
>if you pardon, we will mend:<br>And, as I am an honest Puck,  
>If we have unearned luck<br>Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,  
>We will make amends ere long;<br>Else the Puck a liar call;  
>So, good night unto you all.<br>Give me your hands, if we be friends,  
>And Robin shall restore amends."<p>

Yoh's strong voice rang out, ending in silence. He'd stumbled over the first couple of lines, then found the rhythm needed to read Shakespeare's works. He handed the book back to Gregory carefully. The man nodded his head and carefully stowed the book as Yoh stepped back.

"Well, unless councilman Gregory is in on some conspiracy, we can say for certain that the youngling can read." Ti-asha purred.

"It means nothing." Marco snorted. "So it can read, none of the other of its kind can."

"Only because they were never taught." Yoh replied. Time had not mellowed Marco one bit, if anything, it had made him worse. He was also deeply annoyed by Marco calling him an 'it'.

"Excuse me?" Na-shad hissed.

"If your children were never taught how to read and write, would they be able to?" Yoh asked. Na-shad opened his mouth, and then reluctantly shook his head. "Hybrids are not allowed to know, and thus they do not."

"And yet you know." Ha-wesha pointed out. "How did you learn?"

"I was taught by someone dear to me." This was as close to the truth as he was willing to get. "I will say no more than that. My point though is, the only reason why hybrids appear uneducated is because they have not been allowed to be educated. Most of the others I know would do very well in school if given the chance."

"So you say." Iris said contemptuously.

"Did you ever stop to think of why hybrids, who are supposed to be so stupid and dull, are able to come up with elaborate enough ideas to try and take down their overseers?" Yoh demanded. "Did you ever stop to wonder why the number of slave uprisings has gone up?"

"If you're so intelligent, why don't you enlighten us?" Iris said snarkily.

"The reason is, we understand. We know we are as smart, we know we are no different than humans, or Felids, except in appearance, and we know that it is not fair that we have no control over our lives where you get to be anything you want." Yoh said, quelling the resentment that rose up inside him. "Intelligent beings do not like cages, sooner or later, they will try to get out."

"And how are you so sure of this?" Na-shad hissed.

"Once upon a time in this world, those with dark skin were sold as slaves, simply because they were seen as primitive. Because their culture was different than the so-called civilized world, they were seen as less than human and made into beasts of burden, much like hybrids are today. Like today, these dark-skinned men and women understood what was happening to them, and that it wasn't right. In the end a great war was fought on the soil of the USA, one that claimed many, many lives, between those that believed that slavery was wrong, and those that thought otherwise. You cannot ignore the rumblings that are going on. I do not believe at all that Socrates is the only human that feels that this slavery is wrong. Things will get worse, and if something doesn't change, you will find yourselves in another long, bloody war."

He finished his speech and went silent, looking from one face to another. Gregory was full-on grinning at this point, while Marco silently fumed beside him. Iris looked reluctantly interested and the two female Felids were giving him approving glances. Na-shad looked about ready to jump over the dais and slay him on the spot. _He's probably on his rut too, makes the Felids more aggressive as well as randy._

"I think you have given us much to deliberate on, Tubman." Gregory finally said. "Perhaps we could continue this at a later time. I think most of us need some time to... digest this information."

Yoh nodded and bowed his head once more as the council stood up. Marco was on him in an instant, cutting him off from Hao. "Asakura." The tall blond hissed. "What are you doing here?" Yoh gave him a blackly confused look.

"Who is Asakura? My name is Tubman and I'm here because Socrates asked me to be." Yoh said innocently.

"No, you're Yoh Asakura, I'd know you anywhere. You haven't changed that much in five hundred years."

"Five hundred years? I'm only 20 years old. I don't think anyone could live five hundred years, could they?" Yoh asked, making his eyes wide. Marco growled and lifted a hand, frustrated enough to try and hit him.

"I am going to have to ask you to step away from my partner." Hao's smooth voice said from behind Marco. Marco turned and glared at Hao. "We need to be going now, Tubman."

"Of course, Socrates." Yoh said, ducking around Marco. "I don't think he liked that very much." He murmured to Hao.

"He doesn't like much." Hao replied quietly as they stepped into the elevator together. The doors had nearly closed when Gregory rushed in, grinning at the two of them.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting day." He commented. "You got them thinking, Tubman. Funny how your name's the last name of an escaped slave who helped bring her people to freedom. Odd coincidence, isn't it?" He said, eyes twinkling.

"Yes, sir, very odd." Yoh said. He found he was really starting to like Gregory.

"I don't know if you two have plans tonight, but Eleanor is becoming insanely curious about you, Socrates, and has asked me to invite you for dinner at our place. Of course, Tubman can come."

Hao looked over at Yoh who shook his head slightly. His rut was coming on strong and he didn't want to embarrass himself. "I'm afraid we have some pressing business to attend to tonight, but I'm sure that we can work something out."

"Of course, I'll call you up in the morning to make plans then?" Hao nodded his head and Gregory stepped out of the elevator. Yoh looked at Hao, who merely shrugged his shoulders.

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Star: Be ready for some citrusy goodness in the next chapter YAY!


	15. Chapter 16

Wolf: That lemon was kind of 'eh'. I don't think I'll be doing Hao uke again for now. I own nothing!

Hao groaned softly as he woke up, sore in places he'd never been sore before. His eyes shot open as he realized he was alone in the bed. He sat up, looking around dazedly. "He's in the kitchen." Amidamaru told him, appearing out of nowhere. "He'd sent me to get you up and tell you that if you didn't get out of bed soon, he'd eat all the food."

Hao grinned. "You tell him if he eats all the food I'm locking him out in the garden for the night. We're supposed to get rain." Amidamaru chuckled and disappeared again as Hao found his clothes and pulled them on.

He walked into the kitchen, inhaling deeply as the smell of dinner wafted out to meet him. "Did you have a good rest?" Yoh asked, looking up from the pot he was stirring.

"Hm, yes." Hao replied, sliding in behind Yoh and wrapping his arms around his slender waist, resting his chin on Yoh's shoulder. "I thought I'd wake up with you though."

"Sorry about that. I thought I'd surprise you with dinner." Yoh said, giving the pot one last stir and turning off the burner. "Go sit, you're probably still sore."

Hao rubbed at his back, realizing Yoh was right. He wandered over to the couch area and turned on CSI. Yoh came over a moment later, handing him a bowl. They cuddled up together, watching the show while eating. Hao finished his meal and put his bowl on the floor and then stretched, but winced as he did so.

"Here, why don't I help you with that?" Yoh purred. Hao allowed himself to be pushed down and rolled onto his stomach. Yoh pushed his shirt up his back and then began to massage his back, kneading the stiff muscles lightly.

"Hmm, where'd you get such talented hands?" Hao moaned. Yoh leaned down and licked his ear.

"It's a secret." He whispered.

"Damn it, you're just trying to make me horny, aren't you?" Hao muttered. Yoh laughed above him.

"Is it working?" Hao growled and flipped them over so that he was straddling Yoh's waist.

"I think it's my turn for a little dominance, don't you think?" He said, rolling his hips lightly into Yoh's. Yoh looked up at him with a lustful grin. The beep of the phone shattered the moment. Hao growled.

"You could just leave it." Yoh suggested.

"If it's one of my clients they'll just keep calling." Hao answered, getting up. "Don't think you're going to wiggle your way out of this just because of a phone call though." Yoh just purred softly as Hao walked over to the phone. "Hello?" He asked in a business-like tone.

"Ah, Socrates, good, I caught you." said Gregory through the phone. "I apologize for calling you so soon, but Eleanor is insistent on meeting both you and Tubman now. Do you think you can swing by tomorrow night?"

Hao looked over at Yoh, mouthing the words 'tomorrow night' at him. Yoh nodded his head. "That would be fine, Gregory, where is your home?" Hao wrote on his data pad the address that Gregory gave him and said goodbye. "Gregory's invited us to dinner tomorrow night. Are you sure you'll be able to handle your rut?"

"Hmm, so long as my lust is sated beforehand." Yoh replied and gave Hao a come-hither gesture. Hao grinned and all but pounced on his willing lover.

%&%&%&%

Yoh pressed his face to the window of the car, staring down at the green landscape. "This is close to Izumo!" He exclaimed to Hao.

"It is, nice area." Hao commented, adjusting his silver mask. "Also expensive, but I guess that would make sense, wouldn't it?" Yoh nodded his head in agreement, fidgeting in his seat. "You'll wrinkle your clothes." Hao admonished.

"Yes mother." Yoh muttered, rolling his eyes. Hao reached over and flicked him in the ear lightly, making Yoh growl playfully. Yoh looked down as the car began to descend. A large, sprawling Victorian style mansion came into view below them.

The two of them stepped out, looking up at the house for a moment, admiring the old-style architecture rendered in fake wood. "You ready?" Hao asked, taking Yoh's hand. Yoh squeezed his hand in reply and the two of them marched up to the door. Hao rang the doorbell and the door opened, revealing a human male in his twenties in a butler's outfit.

"Mr Socrates and Mr Tubman I presume?" He said politely.

"Yes, that's us." Hao replied.

"Follow me, please." The butler said. Yoh and Hao followed behind the young man. Gregory poked his head out of a nearby doorway and smiled.

"Socrates, Tubman, so glad to see you both. Come, come meet the missus." He said in a jovial tone. Yoh and Hao allowed him to lead them into a large living room. They both stopped in surprise at the sight of a female Felid waiting for them. "This is Eleanor, the love of my life." Gregory said, embracing the smaller, plump Felid.

She was coloured like a marmalade tabby, with a white bib and white socks and gloves on her hands and feet. The fur on her muzzle was streaked with white and there were telltale wrinkles around her eyes. Her eyes were a dark amber colour and were magnified by a pair of round spectacles perched on her muzzle.

"Hello!" She said in a melodic, happy voice. "It's good to finally meet you, Socrates. And Mr. Tubman, Gregory has not shut up about you since yesterday!"

"Just Tubman, ma'am." Yoh corrected, bowing to her. She giggled.

"You can call me Eleanor."

"Forgive me, but isn't Eleanor a rather human name?" Yoh questioned. Eleanor smiled.

"My parents liked to think of themselves as progressive and wanted to embrace human culture, so they gave me the most human-sounding name they could think of." She told them. She ushered them into the dining room, where a magnificent spread of food awaited them. "I'm afraid I went a little overboard when I found out you were coming, I hope you don't mind."

Hao chuckled. "Sometimes I think Tubman's trying to make up for all the meals he's ever missed out on, the way he eats."

"Hey!" Yoh yelped, poking Hao in the side. "What about you? The only reason you're not rolly-polly is because you work out. Taking thirds all the time." He muttered.

"That's the fault of your cooking, you shouldn't make such wonderful food." Hao admonished playfully. Eleanor giggled at the two of them going back and forth as they sat down.

"You two are like an old married couple." She told them.

"That would mean they'll like us, wouldn't it dear?" Gregory laughed, kissing Eleanor's cheek.

"Forgive me for my bluntness, but how did you two meet?" Hao asked as they tucked into the dinner. "It's not often you see a married mixed-species couple."

"We only met about five years ago actually." Gregory said. "I had been married before, but it was an arranged marriage, if you can believe such an archaic practice still exists. She was a nice girl, but it was never love. She passed on about seven years ago."

"I had a similar marriage, and my mate passed on six years ago. Gregory and I met at a government function, I don't even remember what it was for anymore, but I remember that he was quite the dancer." Eleanor gushed. "We kept in contact, and two years after, we got married."

"I believe it was getting married to Eleanor that changed my perspective on hybrids. Unfortunately before then I thought they deserved slavery as well." Gregory said with an apologetic look at Yoh. "After getting married to Eleanor I began to think of what if we had met and gotten married younger. It pained us both to realize that if that had happened, we would have never been able to share a child together, because of the laws."

"It's funny how that sort of thing can make you change your perspective." Eleanor sighed. "Because really, it doesn't make sense that a hybrid of two highly intelligent species would consistently be idiots, not without other genetic defects, at least."

"It seemed like fate that we both thought about this when we did, because it wasn't long after that Socrates started showing up and advocating for the freedom of hybrids." Gregory said with a grin.

"There is no coincidence, only the illusion of coincidence." Hao said, quoting a movie from the early 21st century (cookie if you guess which one!). Eleanor and Gregory nodded their heads.

The rest of the dinner was pleasant and they spoke of innocent things and when Yoh and Hao left they both felt well-fed and happy. "I like Eleanor and Gregory." Yoh declared, yawning widely. His full belly was making him drowsy.

"So do I." Hao chuckled, rubbing Yoh's ears fondly. Yoh yawned again and leaned into the touch, curling himself up and going to sleep.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	16. Chapter 17

Star: I kind of have to laugh at the amount of... I can't say debate, but whatever, that's been sparked by my lemon. Chill guys, it was an experiment. I wanted to try it out, it didn't go well, it's something I could improve on, the end. NOW YOU KNOW, AND KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE! *coughcough* sorry, the eighties took over for a second. New chapter, yadayada. Let's see if this goes down any better, eh? I own nothing but the plot and whatever ocs show up.

Yoh stared up into the night sky, looking up at the Destiny Star, his tail flicking back and forth in agitation. Hao came up beside him, resting his elbows on the ledge. "What are you thinking?" He asked.

"Just nervous." Yoh replied.

"Why? You have me here." Hao said in a lofty tone. Yoh elbowed him in the side for that.

"I'm talking more of my friends' reaction to... us." Yoh informed him.

"Well, obviously I don't care what they think, but you had said that they would probably be alright with it."

"Now I'm not so sure." Yoh replied.

"Are you sure it's not just jitters?" Hao asked, wrapping an arm around Yoh's waist.

"Maybe." Yoh agreed, leaning his head on Hao's shoulder. "I think they'll be alright with it, but I'm worried that they might shoot first and ask questions later, you know what I mean? And Lyserg... I fear that our friendship will suffer because of this."

"Which is more important to you?"

"Both are important." Hao couldn't help the stab of jealousy and his arm tightened around Yoh. Yoh gave him an odd look. "But I'm not leaving you to please him. I love you, Hao."

Hao relaxed and smiled slightly. "Forgive me, I should know that by now."

"You have your insecurities, I have mine." Yoh said philosophically. "We're only mortal."

"You're too forgiving." Hao said, shaking his head.

"Maybe if everyone was as forgiving as me, the world would not have had the problems it has had in the past." Yoh retorted. Hao only snorted, but didn't argue. His lover could be quite stubborn when he wanted to be.

"Well, the first round will be a hell of a lot easier for you this time around." Hao observed with a smirk. "As for me, I'm not sure why they would bother testing me, I'm obviously going to blow the competition out of the water."

"You are an arrogant bastard, aren't you?" Yoh chuckled, poking Hao in the side. Hao grabbed his hand and kissed it, smirking at Yoh. Yoh grinned back, but then gave Hao a worried frown. "You're not going to start killing your opponents again, are you?"

"Considering I've got no followers, and anyone coming up against me would inevitably weaker than I am, I would wind up just wiping out most of the shaman population, wouldn't I? Where's the logic in that?" Hao smiled at Yoh. "Plus, it would upset you, and maybe make you leave me, and I won't allow that."

"Ah, so you're also a possessive bastard, too." Yoh said with a grin. He kissed Hao's cheek. "I must say, I'm a lot calmer about this than the last time the tournament was on."

"You know what's going to happen." Hao pointed out. "So obviously you're not going to be so worried about it." Hao shook his hair out of his face. "Maybe we'll wind up meeting some of your friends in the first round." He mused. "After all, that's where you met Horohoro for the first time, isn't it?"

"You know, you were kind of a stalker back then, weren't you?" Yoh observed wryly. "You always knew what I was doing and what I had done."

"I had an interest in seeing how you were progressing, but yes, I was kind of a stalker." Hao admitted reluctantly.

"Admitting you have a problem is the first step." Yoh teased.

"I think he has several problems he has to admit to." Amidamaru deadpanned and Hao mock-glared at him.

"Watch it, I can still chuck fireballs at you." Amidamaru just snorted at him. The three of them spent some more time staring up at the sky. "Come on Yoh, let's go to bed." Yoh nodded and allowed himself to be steered back towards the house. Amidamaru's parting shot made him giggle.

"I notice he said nothing about going to sleep!"

%&%&%&%

Five hundred years, Yoh thought to himself as he picked his way along the streets of the Patch village. It was hard to believe it had been so long since he'd last been here. He could see some changes to the place, but all in all it looked the same.

He and Hao had won every single one of their battles in the first round. Yoh wasn't sure if he was sad or glad that none of his opponents had been his friends. The plane ride had been different, there had been multiple planes going from different locations and dropping them all in random places, so he had not seen his friends there either.

He hummed to himself as he picked up breakfast at one of the local shops. Hao was busy with work-related issues, so he'd gone out to get them some food. A couple people sneered at him as he walked around, but most just ignored him.

%&%&%&%

Ren Tao's pale gold eyes swept across each of his friends' faces, and then narrowed in irritation. He'd found everyone except one, who happened to be the most important one of their group. "You need to relax, dude." Horohoro stated, running his fingers through his long white-blue hair. "Yoh will be here, he's always come through for us."

"That's right. The Chief will be here." Ryu said firmly, combing his ridiculous pompadour back into place. Five hundred years had not improved his style in Ren's opinion.

"Haven't seen Hao either." Lyserg muttered, his blue-green eyes flashing dangerously.

"He'll be here too." Ren said bleakly. "He won't stop."

He scanned the village square again and then paused, eyes settling briefly on a figure with spiked dark hair. But no, the person was a hybrid, Yoh had been aiming to be born as an Asakura again. Then the dark-haired boy looked up and a very familiar guardian ghost appeared, speaking with him. Ren was frozen for an instant, and then the boy, Yoh, began to walk away with a couple of take-out boxes.

"Guys!" He said, cutting short an argument between Ryu and Horohoro. He gestured towards the retreating back. "I think that's him!"

"Really?" Everyone exclaimed.

"Well, come on!" Horohoro yelped, getting up and trotting after Yoh. Everyone followed. Yoh had gotten too far ahead to yell after him, so his friends just settled for keeping him in sight. Ren began to run when Yoh entered one of the buildings set aside for tournament participants to use as their quarters.

The four of them stormed up the stairs after Yoh, catching sight of his tail just as he disappeared into one of the rooms and closed the door. Ren breathlessly walked up to the door and looked around at the rest of them. Their eager stares encouraged him and he knocked on the door.

A moment later the door opened and a pair of chocolate brown eyes peered out. Those eyes widened at the sight of the people standing before him. "Guys?"

Unable to contain himself, Horohoro flung himself at Yoh, knocking over everyone else in the process into the room. It was chaos for a couple minutes, Ryu trying to hug Yoh, Horohoro trying to punch him and Ren and Lyserg just trying to untangle themselves. When the dust finally settled, Ren looked up into very familiar, and unwelcome, amused black eyes.

"You." He snarled.

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Star: A note, as I'm sure there are those who will take my previous author note the wrong way, just because I'm amused doesn't mean I don't take into consideration the critiques I receive. I'm trying to improve my writing, even though I'll likely never publish in real life, and the fact that you guys seem to care enough to give me critiques warms my cynical heart (I'm in environmental science, I know humanity is doomed, so yes, I'm cynical). So, thank you. Actually I have a request for those that have been critiquing my work. My younger sister is writing a fanfiction story for the Dark Knight, and would love critiques on her work. I think she's fantastic, but I'm also her sister, so there's a certain amount of bias there. Her pen name is linnie kinda spinnie and her story is called Rumour. Also, it's Reading Week, kind of like Spring Break in the USA, so lots of updates this week!

If you have no critics, you'll likely have no success – Malcolm X


	17. Chapter 18

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh froze, waiting for the inevitable. Of course it was Lyserg who moved first, uttering an enraged snarl and launching himself at Hao. Yoh wiggled out from beneath his friends and tackled Lyserg to the ground.

"Stop." He ordered the rest of them. "Just calm down."

"Calm down! Yoh, what the hell is going on?" Horohoro demanded. Yoh sighed and looked at Hao, who let out a moody growl and put away his data pad.

"So much for getting some work done." He muttered.

"We can go somewhere we won't be disturbing you." Yoh offered, struggling to keep a hold on Lyserg. "Will you calm down please and let me explain?"

"Explain what? That you're somehow in cahoots with him?" Lyserg demanded.

"I'm not leaving you alone with them, Yoh." Hao interrupted. "As much as they don't trust me, I also don't trust them to try to steal you away for 'your own good'."

"What the hell does that mean?" Ren demanded hotly. Yoh sighed and let Lyserg go, standing up.

"Look, if you all just settle down, I'll explain." He said. "Please don't try and attack us Lyserg, I don't want to have to hurt you." Lyserg glared at him, but kept his dowser and his pistol away. "Is Anna here?" Ren snorted.

"What do you think? She's been micromanaging us for days." He said wryly. "She told us to stay put and keep an eye out while she talked to the locals about you."

"Can one of you call her? I'd rather only have to tell the story once." Yoh requested. Ryu took out a data pad and sent a message to Anna. Yoh went and sat down next to Hao on the bed, his tail flicking nervously. Hao caught his tailtip and began to stroke it in a soothing manner as his friends stared. They were still sitting like that when Anna came.

She had hazel eyes and dark blonde hair with white-blonde streaks. The glare she was giving the two of them was the same as ever though and it coaxed a tentative grin onto Yoh's face. She folded her arms. "You better have a good reason for this, Yoh Asakura."

"It's good to see you again too, Anna." Yoh said, some of his old jovial tone returning to his voice. "Whether or not I have a good reason is entirely up to you all to decide."

"Well?" Ryu said, giving Hao a nervous look. "Go on." Yoh swallowed and looked at Hao, who gave him a faint but encouraging smile.

"Of course, as a hybrid, you would obviously assume that I've been a slave." His friends nodded. "For the past few years I've been trying to escape, with no success. After my last attempt I was sold to a whorehouse." He smiled faintly at the couple of gasps. "Fortunately before I could be 'used' a man named Socrates bought me. He wore a mask and a hood."

"Let me guess, Hao, right?" Anna said, glaring at Hao.

"Yes, but I didn't know for quite some time. Anyways, Socrates was different from other masters," Yoh grimaced at the word. "He treated me as an equal, even as a friend. As time went on I came to trust him, and then to care about him. When I finally admitted my feelings for him, he revealed himself to me."

"So he played himself off as this Socrates to manipulate you and you just fell for it?" Lyserg hissed.

"No, he was actually quite angry when I revealed myself to him. It was understandable, he felt he'd been set up." Hao said, speaking to them for the first time. Yoh didn't miss the couple of flinches the sound of his voice brought. "I've been using the pseudonym of Socrates for a number of years now to conduct business. I am not exactly a friend of the government as I am very vocal about abolishing the slavery of hybrids."

"Wait, you're that Socrates?" Anna asked, surprised. "I've heard about you on the Net, harassing the government about the hybrids all the time. They say some of the council would love to figure out where you live so they could put a hit on you."

"Hence the reason I wore a disguise and didn't use my real name." Hao said. "Even though I know an assassination attempt of any kind against me would fail, I'd rather not have to deal with it in the first place."

"Okay, I can see that." Ren admitted. "But continuing the deception with Yoh makes me suspicious of your motives."

Hao nodded his head and looked down at his hands, petting the tailtip still trapped between them. "I was afraid." He admitted softly. "I wanted him to trust me, but I thought that if he knew who I really was that he would try and run, so I didn't tell him. Everything else was truth, just not my identity. I let it go too long though, but I was afraid to disturb the relationship we were building and by the time he told me he loved me, it had kind of spiralled out of control."

"Hard to believe." Horohoro said.

"Perhaps." Hao agreed in a mildly snide tone. "The only face of me that you knew was the confident, controlling egomaniac. It probably didn't occur to you that I had other facets to my personality." Yoh's tail wrapped around his hand and tugged.

"Behave." Yoh ordered. Hao smiled at him. "When Hao revealed himself to me I was quite mad, but then he kissed me."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Lyserg demanded.

"An emotional kiss cannot be faked, it is one of the ultimate expressions of affection for that reason. If there's no affection, there's no spark, and believe me, there was spark." Yoh said, giggling faintly. "He begged me to allow him to explain."

"And what did he have to say?" Ryu asked.

"I told him how I felt after knowing that he'd cried for me. After all that I'd done to him, all the pain I'd caused him, he could still cry for me." Hao said softly. "I was surprised, and I began to wonder about my own motives. My first and foremost goal in this life was to find Yoh, and to find out if he truly did care about me. My second was to have another look at the human race and decide if they were really as beyond saving as what I'd previously thought."

"And?" Anna demanded.

"I work with a group of humans who wish to free hybrids from their slavery and recently struck up a friendship with one of the human council members, named Gregory. Yoh and I have been guests at his place a few times. His wife Eleanor is lovely."

"She's also a Felid." Yoh added with a cheeky grin. "He's not completely convinced, but he's seen that people can change the way they think and the fact that humans now put such a high priority on environmental conservation helps too."

"I suppose it would." Horohoro mused, though his voice was still sceptical. "But how do we know for sure that he hasn't brainwashed you?"

"I think the first clue would be if what Yoh's been saying is the kind of thing that Yoh would say." Hao offered. "The second would be talking to Amidamaru, and asking Anna if she can find any spells hanging over the two of them."

The boys all looked at Anna questioningly. She gave them a frosty glare and took out her beads. They started glowing softly as she held them first over Yoh and then Amidamaru. "They're both clean." She finally said grudgingly.

"It could have been done long ago." Lyserg muttered rebelliously. She fixed him with her cold glare.

"Any kind of magic leaves residue, even years after it's been done." She snapped. "Besides, a spell to control Yoh's mind or even Amidamaru's actions would require regular 're-application' so I would be able to feel that."

"Not to mention a strong enough mind can break a spell's hold, and we all know that Yoh has a strong mind." Ren added. "That does not mean he can't be persuaded to believe things that aren't true."

"I have been watching Hao with Yoh, and discreetly while he is alone for some time, and I can say for certain that Hao has been nothing but affectionate and kind towards Yoh. In his time alone he has known no change from that personality, which leads me to believe him." Amidamaru said. "There is other evidence, but I doubt either of them wants me discussing their... bedroom antics, shall we say?"

Yoh blushed wildly at the looks he was being given. "You're letting him fuck you?" Lyserg screeched at Yoh.

"It's not always me doing the fucking." Hao answered calmly, making Yoh blush an even deeper shade of red.

"Well, we all knew Yoh was gay." Horohoro muttered.

"Why don't we go outside, and one of you can buy us breakfast, seeing as ours is all over the floor now." Yoh said, eying the fallen take-out boxes. "We can talk more then." Hao gave him a look and gestured at his data pad. "You can get work done outside." Yoh sighed indulgently.

"Oh fine." Hao said grumpily. None of Yoh's friends moved. "You don't think it would be better to talk to me in a crowded area than a secluded room like this if you're worried about me?" He questioned. Yoh's friends gave him suspicious looks but began to file out of the room. Hao murmured to Yoh. "Well, that went better than I expected."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	18. Chapter 19

Star: I own nothing!

Hao had his eyes on his data pad, but he wasn't really paying attention to it. He was listening to the chatter of Yoh and his friends. They were outside in a small, grassy area made to look like a park. He was sitting on a bench while the others were sitting on the ground a small distance away. He'd purposely separated himself a little, allowing them to feel a little more comfortable.

They were talking of innocent things, telling each other about their new lives. Hao could see that most of Yoh's friends were relaxing, probably reassured by the familiarity of Yoh's responses to him. Lyserg however, remained stiff and kept shooting glowering looks at Hao. It didn't surprise him, Lyserg had been the one of Yoh's friends that hated him the most, for good reason.

Hao huffed in annoyance, trying to pay more attention to his work. This particular mining company was a thorn in his side. Most companies were quite willing to make the necessary changes to their facilities, but this company badgered, threatened, bribed and outright ignored him on so many occasions. He was currently writing up what was hopefully his final report to his superiors, recommending the company be shut down and the administration looked into for corruption and other felonies.

"The X-Laws are already here too." Horohoro said softly. "Marco and the little girl are back."

"We know, Marco's one of the council members." Yoh said.

"Seriously? No wonder you two are having such a hard time getting the council to lift the slave laws." Ryu said, letting out an unmanly squeak when Hao chuckled at his remark.

"Actually, only Marco and Na-shad are showing real opposition to taking down the slave laws now." Yoh said. Lyserg frowned.

"Why would Marco condone slavery?" He wondered aloud.

"Because he's an asshole." Hao said, speaking for the first time. Lyserg turned and glared at him.

"I'll remind you that Marco trained me." Lyserg said tightly.

"And he was an asshole to you, wasn't he?" Hao countered. "From the intel I've gathered Marco harbours a secret animosity towards the Felids, calls them ungodly beasts, and if the X-Laws somehow win this tournament they'll probably destroy both the Felids and the hybrids."

"So basically the same thing you want to with humans." Lyserg said in a caustic tone. Hao glared at him.

"Both of you, enough." Yoh said firmly. "Hao, quit baiting him, and Lyserg, he's not planning the genocide of the human race anymore."

"I find that hard to believe." Lyserg huffed.

"One of Hao's biggest complaints about the human race was the destruction to the natural world." Yoh reminded them. "Humans have placed a far higher value on the environment's well-being than ever before in this era."

"A company can be shut down, completely, if the environmental administration feels they aren't compliant with their high standards." Hao added.

"How would you know about that?" Anna asked, more curious than anything.

"My main job is as an environmental consultant. I go in, check to make sure everything's up to code in the area, tell them what needs to be changed and report to the administration." Hao replied evenly. "I'm currently writing up a report on one company that will be most likely be shut down soon."

"Is it that one that kept bribing you to keep quiet about their dumping?" Yoh asked. Hao nodded and Yoh winced. "Well, they'll only be getting what they deserve."

"So, you have a job?" Horohoro asked.

"Yes."

"Working with humans?"

"Yes again."

"And you're okay with that?"

"I've been with the administration for close to five years, they've been attempting to promote me for two." Hao replied.

"And you turned them down?" Anna said with some amount of disbelief.

"I like working in the field, not some stuffy office." Hao stated. "Plus it was easier to get time off for this than if I was one of the higher ups."

"If you're not going to destroy humanity, then what do you have planned?" Ren asked.

"You know, I haven't been very clear on that myself." Hao said after pondering the question for a moment. "As I said, my first goal was finding Yoh, so I hadn't given it much thought. Obviously I haven't built up an entourage like last time. The main thing would be if hybrids aren't given equal rights by the time this is over, I would go after that then. There's also a couple areas where environmental rehabilitation has not been successful, like around the Sahara desert, which I can fix. Finally, perhaps its time for shamans to come out of hiding. If humans can deal with aliens, why not us?"

"Hmm, that would be nice." Ren admitted.

"I can't believe you guys are just sitting here and talking to him like it's nothing!" Lyserg exploded.

"We're trying to see if we need to worry about him." Anna said with a sniff and a glare at Lyserg. "The more he talks the greater the possibility he'll slip up if he's making shit up. So far I haven't spotted any lies and god only knows I'm good at that."

"Yes, you are." Yoh, Horohoro, Ren and Ryu chorused, grinning at each other. Anna thumped Horohoro, who was closest to her, over the head, but it wasn't as hard as she could have done. Hao smiled slightly and then got up from his bench, walking over and sitting down next to Yoh, ignoring Lyserg's growls.

"Proof-read this for me?" He requested, showing Yoh his report. Yoh took it and began scanning the document.

"Hao Asakura needs someone to proof-read?" Horohoro quipped and then slapped a hand over his mouth. Hao favoured them with a wry grin.

"When I'm annoyed with a company it tends to come out in my writing, making it sound like a rant instead of a report, and as liberating as that feels, it's supposed to be professional." He explained. "Yoh's been a big help to me." He said, wrapping one arm around Yoh's waist.

"Looks good Hao." Yoh said, handing the pad back. "Harsh, but good."

"They've had it coming." Hao said, hitting the send button on the report. "Dumping in a protected area." He muttered angrily. He tucked the pad away and grabbed Yoh around the waist, pulling him, protesting, into his lap.

Yoh gave him a dirty look when he was settled, which Hao responded to with a grin and a kiss on the nose. He definitely heard someone giggle, though he wasn't sure who. Looking up he saw that the expressions were either confused, amused, or, in Lyserg's case of course, angry.

"There's just one more thing I'd like to see before I'm convinced." Anna said calmly. Hao raised an eyebrow at her. "You two have to kiss." She ordered. Hao thought for a moment and then allowed a slow grin to ease its way across his face.

"Are you sure this is a test? Or do you just want to see two attractive males going at it?" He asked. Anna narrowed her eyes at him, but the expected slap never surfaced. Instead she smirked and said

"Well, I can't say no to that, but the way you two react to the kiss will tell me something of your relationship."

Hao quickly spun Yoh around in his lap and pressed their lips together in a firm, but loving kiss while threading his arms around Yoh's waist and holding him close. Yoh responded by digging his fingers into Hao's hair and pulling them even closer, relaxing into the gentle kiss. When they parted Yoh smiled at him dazedly and Hao returned the smile with a tipsy one of his own.

"Well?" He asked, looking up to meet Anna's eyes. She considered them for a couple minutes before smiling.

"You pass."

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Star: Review plz!


	19. Chapter 20

Star: Anyone notice I'm still not remembering that I changed my penname and keep referring to myself as Wolf instead of Star? Well, anyways, I own nothing.

"What?" Lyserg screeched, staring bug-eyed at Anna. "You can't be serious!"

"Are you questioning my judgement?" Anna demanded frostily. Lyserg quelled a little at her glare.

"Dude, I've seen some passionate kisses before but, wow! I could practically see the sparks flying." Horohoro laughed.

"It's nice to see that Yoh found someone he can share his life with." Ren added. Yoh slid around so that he was resting in Hao's lap with his back against Hao's chest and smiled softly. Lyserg simply glowered at the two of them.

"I can't believe you all are okay with this." He muttered petulantly.

"What would you rather happen, us all have to keep reincarnating and killing him till the end of time?" Ren snapped. "People change, and if Hao's changed enough that Yoh could fall in love with him, well, I'm willing to give him a second chance."

"Who are we to judge him anyways? I mean, he'll get what's coming to him at the end of his life, right? Killing him just meant we were preventing genocide, and since that's not an issue, live and let live." Ryu said. The others stared at him.

"When did you become a philosopher?" Horohoro demanded.

"I have my moments." Ryu sniffed haughtily, making the rest of them snicker.

"Isn't it better to end this in a way that means that we don't have to keep coming back, Lyserg?" Yoh said quietly.

"I'll keep coming back until the stars grow cold if it means keeping him dead." Lyserg snarled venomously. Yoh sighed and looked over his shoulder, giving Hao a pointed look. Hao just shrugged at him. Yoh glared at him.

"Can I talk to you in private?" He said, dragging Hao to his feet.

"Ooh, someone's in trouble." Horohoro quipped as Yoh led Hao out of earshot.

"What?" Hao whispered.

"You could apologize." Yoh hissed.

"You really think that would help?" Hao demanded. "I doubt he'd believe me. He'd probably think I was making fun of him for crying out loud."

"Don't you feel bad at all?" Yoh demanded angrily. His anger died a little when Hao's shoulders slumped.

"Yes, I do feel bad. I look at Lyserg, and all the others who've been hurt by me, and I see myself of so many years ago." Hao admitted quietly. "I tore families apart because their happiness made me angry. Why did they get to be happy when I couldn't?"

"You took your anger at being left alone out on the entire world." Hao nodded, face tight and miserable. "Oh Hao." Yoh sighed, gathering his lover into his arms. They shared an embrace for a few moments before Yoh spoke again. "You should still apologize."

"Why?"

"It may help, and it may help you feel better about it too." Yoh asserted. Hao gave him a look, and then sighed.

"I'll try, but not now." Yoh glared at him. "If I do it now he'll just think I'm trying to trick him and it will end in another argument with both of us angry." Yoh opened his mouth to argue but Hao placed a finger on his lips. "Trust me, it'll do more damage than good at this point."

"Fine." Yoh grumbled. "But you have to promise me that you will do it." Hao's lips quirked up in a smile.

"I promise." He said, kissing the tip of Yoh's nose lightly. Yoh purred slightly and then led him back to his friends.

"What was that about?" Anna asked.

"Nothing." Yoh replied.

"Lover's tiff." Horohoro snickered. "Your grandfather would probably have a heart attack if he could see you now, Yoh."

Yoh snorted. "Heart attack and apoplexy."

"Heart attack, apoplexy and then he comes back from the dead to kick your ass." Everyone turned at the sound of the voice to see one of the Patch officials grinning down at them. "What are we talking about?"

"Silva?" Yoh said with a tone of disbelief. The tall man with long, slightly wavy black hair and light brown eyes grinned widely.

"Thought you were the only one coming back, didn't you?" Silva said, his grin growing bigger.

"What about Kalim?" Horohoro asked excitedly.

"Naw, he said having to deal with one of these headaches," Silva gestured over his shoulder at the multitude of shamans and their families and friends that thronged the streets. "Was enough for him, but he wished me all the luck in the world."

"Why'd you come back?" Hao asked. To their surprise Silva didn't seem all that concerned by Hao's presence.

"I've always felt that as your direct descendent I was honour-bound to stop you, so I came back to stop you."

"And yet you're just standing here talking to me like an old friend." Silva chuckled at Hao's statement.

"That's because for the last few years, I've been watching you."

"How?" Hao demanded.

"Wasn't easy." Silva admitted with a shrug. "He's got spells to keep divination or dowsers from finding him." He explained to the others. "There is, however, a way to bypass those spells, but not many people know about it."

"And not many people are foolish enough to do it!" Hao yelped. "How many years of your life did you have to give up to make up the energy to make it work?"

"Five." Silva said calmly. "I've already lived one long life, why do I need another long one?"

"Wait, five years of your life, literally?" Ryu asked. Silva nodded. "Wow..."

"If you knew where I was, how come you never did anything?" Hao asked, raising one eyebrow at Silva.

"Thought I'd spy on you first, figure out the best way to strike, but the more I watched you, the more confused I got." He paused, licking his lips. "I've seen you meeting with that group of humans that want to bring down the slave laws. I've watched you at work, and at home. If I hadn't known who you were, I would not have known you were Hao, because you don't act like I expect you to act. You have a job, you hang out with humans, you have an apartment for god's sake instead of laying down on any old patch of grass you can find."

"My way of thinking about things evolved." Hao said with a shrug.

"I could see that. I was a little nervous when I saw Yoh come into the picture, but relaxed again when it was clear to me you were only working to gain his trust." Silva looked at Yoh. "Congratulations on finding someone for you, by the way."

Yoh ducked his head and blushed. "Thank you."

"Shame I'm not your official this time around, but I suppose I'll find some excuse to say hi once in awhile." Silva grinned.

"You better." Yoh grinned back. "It's great to see you again." He said, rushing up to Silva and giving him a hug.

"It's great to see you too." Silva replied, returning the hug and then tugging on one of Yoh's ears.

"Nobody touches his ears but me." Hao said in a half-serious, half-joking tone. Yoh turned and stuck his tongue out at his lover, making all of them but Lyserg laugh.

"Well, well." An unwelcome voice behind Yoh ground out. "So good to see you again, _Tubman_."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	20. Chapter 21

Star: I own nothing!

Hao felt Yoh stiffen slightly at the voice, but his lover simply turned and gave Marco and a young girl who was obviously Lady Jeanne, a quick smile. "Long time no see, Marco." Hao gazed at the Iron Maiden a moment. Her hair, instead of the light silver it had been, was more of a steel grey, and her eyes were an almost demonic bright red. She was still pale as death and the combined effect of her skin and eyes made her look a little like a vampire.

"You deceitful little freak of nature!" Marco seethed. "You were in cahoots with him all along, weren't you?"

"I don't know what you mean." Yoh said, feigning ignorance. Hao smirked to himself; it seemed Yoh had an impish streak.

"Of course you do!" Marco screeched, looking positively deranged as he glared down at Yoh. "Socrates was really Hao all along, and the two of you were conspiring to get all you freaks set free."

"And that's a bad thing because...?" Horohoro asked, giving Marco a 'WTF' look.

"They're unholy beasts, both them and the beasts that made it possible to bear them." The Iron Maiden added in, her voice as toneless as ever. "The humans that consort with them are just as bad, and they will be dealt with as well."

"Did I ever sound this crazy? Please tell me I didn't." Hao begged to no one in particular.

"Uhhh, not until that last battle, but I think your mind had kind of snapped at that point." Silva stated. "Most of the time the arguments made sense."

"What the hell are you rambling about?" Marco demanded. "This is Hao Asakura, the demon, the ultimate evil."

"Well, he seems to have been more proactive in this life than you have been." Ren said. "And seems to be mentally stable."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" The Iron Maiden demanded.

"You're talking about genocide for a species that has done nothing to you." Hao said. "At least I had, in my mind, a legitimate reason for my hate, all you seem to need is the fact that they exist."

"What other reason do we need?" Marco demanded. "Godless creatures, all of them."

"Actually Felids do have their own set of gods and religious beliefs, though they are more flexible about their beliefs and have adapted some of our belief systems into theirs." Yoh said. "Kind of like the Romans in ancient times, they had their own gods, but would pay homage to others and in some cases adopt them into their belief system. In addition to that, since they are naturally born creatures, whatever deity that created this universe had to have created them too."

His friends all stared at him. "Glad to see you've dropped the head-in-the-clouds routine." Silva muttered as Marco spluttered incoherently. Yoh shrugged his shoulders. Lyserg was staring at Marco like he'd grown two heads as the blonde man struggled to compose himself.

"It does not matter how you argue, you will be taken care of during this tournament and made to pay for your crimes, Hao." The Iron Maiden said ominously. Hao bowed mockingly to her.

"I look forward to seeing you try." He said. "Now, if you don't mind, we were trying to have a friendly conversation before you crashed the party. We'd like to continue it in peace."

Marco growled but the Iron Maiden put up a hand. "Come Marco, I can't stand to be in the presence of this much sin for so long." She turned her back deliberately on Hao, giving him a contemptuous look in the process.

"Come along Lyserg." Marco ordered. Lyserg stared at him like he'd grown two heads. "What, I said come along." He growled.

"You just insulted my friend and told him he was lesser than human and you would kill him and the rest of his kind." Lyserg said, stepping back and shaking his head. "I can't believe I'm saying this but Hao was right... you are an asshole."

"You are making a mistake, Lyserg." The Iron Maiden stated. "But if you wish to align yourself with darkness, there is nothing we can do, for now. Think on your sin and perhaps you'll come back to us."

"Not bloody likely." Lyserg muttered as the two of them walked away. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Well, now that that's over, we still have one more issue." Horohoro said. Everyone gave him blank looks. "The teams, the three person teams we have to make, who's going to be on who's team? I mean, I assume Yoh's going to be with Hao..." Yoh and Hao both nodded.

"I'll join Hao and Yoh." Ren proclaimed, stating it in such a way that told the rest of them that there would be no argument.

"Aw, stacking the deck, I see." Ryu said, giving Ren a dirty look.

"Hmph, worried you won't be able to beat us?" Ren taunted.

"As if, you'll get beat so bad, your ancestors will feel the scars." Horohoro said, shaking a fist in Ren's face. Yoh watched the two of them argue away with a smile of amusement.

"I guess some things never change." He sighed, leaning back against his lover's chest. Hao hummed, wrapping his arms around Yoh's waist.

"I guess then it's me, Horohoro and Lyserg?" Ryu asked, giving Lyserg a hopeful look. Lyserg looked pensive, his eyes flicking over to Hao. He was clearly torn between his loyalty to his friends and his hatred of Hao.

"Lyserg, if you can't handle being around him, none of us will think less of you for it." Yoh said kindly. "I know the scars run deep."

Lyserg's eyes softened a bit and he chewed at his lip. He stepped towards Yoh and Hao, his expression wary and guarded. "I don't like you." He said, addressing Hao directly.

"That's painfully obvious." Hao said sarcastically, earning him a sharp elbow in the ribs.

"I can never forgive you for what you did to me."

"I don't expect you to." Hao's voice was gentler this time. "I know very well the kind of pain I put you through. I will not explain my actions, because I'm not sure that I fully understand them myself, but know that I am aware that what I did was wrong."

Lyserg stared at him for a long moment and then stuck out his hand. Hao looked at it and then back at Lyserg, raising an eyebrow. "I propose a temporary truce." Lyserg said tightly. "I have no wish to lose the best friends I've ever had because of my quarrel with you. So, for now we will both agree to be civil with one another. Do you think you can handle that?"

"I can and you can." Hao replied, shaking Lyserg's hand firmly. Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now that you're all done acting like women, I think it's time we got training underway." Anna interjected. All of the men groaned. Yoh grinned though; it was nice to see some things never changed. 'Then again,' he thought to himself as he smiled back at Hao. 'it's nice to know that some things can change after all.'

%&%&%&%

_I'm sure you all wonder who won the tournament. In my mind, it doesn't matter. We all got what we wanted without it. I will say though that me, Hao, and all our friends lived out peaceful, contented lives. Hao continued on with his work in the environmental sector and we both continued to advocate for equality for the hybrids. _

_Of course the slave laws were eventually dissolved, and I went to university and became a biologist focusing on the restoration of degraded habitats. It was nice that our work complimented each other. We eventually got married legally, and adopted a child that Hao insisted on naming Opacho. _

_And what about the rest of them? They all went back to the lives they had before, finding them just as fulfilling even after the tournament. Anna finally found someone for her as well, a Felid, if you can believe it. They had a child together, once the laws were dissolved, and our Opacho and their little Ta-can grew up as best friends and eventually married as well. _

_And then there was Lyserg. Believe it or not, that temporary truce never was dissolved, not as long as he lived. He was never real friendly with Hao, never sought him out for conversation, but they would talk to each other if the conversation allowed it. I know Lyserg never forgave Hao for what he did, but I like to think he finally found peace with himself and Hao._

_As for the X-Laws... let's just say they won't be bothering anyone, ever again. That's all I'll say though. _

_It was a good life, all in all. We all agreed that we weren't coming back for another round, even Hao. Two times, or even four times, was enough. It'll be interesting to see where the world goes from here, and what will happen when humanity starts travelling through the stars. _

_Well, that's the end of mine and Hao's tale, I guess all that's left to say is that tired old cliché... and they all lived, and died, happily ever after._

**THE END**

Star: Yup, it's over. I hope you all enjoyed it and I'll have the first chapter of Stone Cold up for you guys soon!


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